Former Kogi West Senator, Smart Adeyemi, has expressed his determination to appeal to the Court of Appeal to challenge the governorship primary election conducted by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi State.
Adeyemi voiced his dissatisfaction with the recent ruling of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which upheld the validity of the primary election that resulted in Ahmed Usman Ododo being nominated as the APC candidate for the Kogi State governorship election scheduled for November 11.
Adeyemi argued that the trial court failed to adequately assess the evidence presented by the parties involved, pointing out inconsistencies between the report submitted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the affidavit submitted by the APC.
While INEC claimed that the primary election was conducted using Option A4 mode, the APC stated that it was a secret ballot process.
In the judgment, Justice James Omotosho determined that Adeyemi had not substantiated his claim that Ododo was unlawfully nominated by the APC.
The judge noted that the plaintiff failed to provide credible evidence to support his allegation. Justice Omotosho highlighted that there was sufficient proof that the primary election was valid and had been monitored by INEC.
Justice Omotosho further emphasized that the allegations made by Adeyemi wercriminalre and needed to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. The judge concluded that the burden of proof had not been met by the plaintiff.
Justice Omotosho stated, “There is enough proof before this court to show that indeed a direct primary election of the APC was held in Kogi State on April 14.”
He noted that Adeyemi had participated in the primary election but had failed to appear before the APC’s Appeal Committee to substantiate his allegations.
Consequently, Justice Omotosho found no grounds to invalidate the outcome of the primary election and dismissed the lawsuit for lacking merit.
Adeyemi initially filed the suit, bearing the mark FHC/ABJ/CS/556/2023, shortly after the primary election, seeking the cancellation of the election on the grounds of invalidity. He requested the court to declare the purported direct primary election conducted by the APC, which resulted in Ododo’s candidacy, as illegal, unlawful, and invalid.
Adeyemi contended that Ododo was handpicked by the outgoing Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, in clear violation of Section 177 of the 1999 Constitution, as well as Sections 29 and 84 of the Electoral Act, and Article 20 of the APC Constitution.
