TheCable

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has tendered election documents to challenge the petition filed by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) before the Kogi governorship tribunal.

INEC announced Usman Ododo, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the winner of the Kogi state governorship election held on November 11, 2023.

Ododo polled 446,237 votes to defeat Murtala Ajaka, candidate of the SDP, who came second with 259,052 votes, and Dino Melaye, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who scored 46,362 votes.

At the tribunal session on Monday, counsel to INEC, Uchenna Njoku, who held the brief of Kanu Agabi, tendered several documents for the commission.

Some of the documents include INEC regulations and guidelines for the conduct of the election, manuals for electoral officers and Form EC8C.

Others are INEC Form EC8B; Form EC8E, a list of accredited agents for SDP; a list of accredited ward agents and receipts of payment for forms, among others.

Ado Birnin-Kudu, chairman of the tribunal, admitted the documents in evidence and marked them as exhibits.

The INEC counsel then applied for an adjournment to enable the electoral umpire to call its witnesses on the next adjourned date.

The judge adjourned the matter until April 16 for the continuation of the hearing.

Earlier, the tribunal chairman said there was a need to amend the number of days allotted to the 2nd and 3rd respondents to call their witnesses considering that the SDP’s petition would elapse on May 29.

Consequently, Birnin-Kudu reduced the number of days from 10 to five.

He assured that the panel would consider parties if five days turned out not to be enough.

Ajaka and the SDP closed their case on April 5 after calling 25 witnesses.