Appeal Court upholds Ododo’s election as Kogi governor

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has upheld the election of Usman Ododo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the Governor of Kogi State.

The Court upheld the Kogi State Governorship Election Petition The tribunal’s earlier ruling, which dismissed the petition filed by the
Social Democratic Party (SDP) and its candidate, Murtala Ajaka, challenging Ododo’s victory.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Ododo the winner of the closely contested Kogi State Governorship Election held on November 11, 2023. Ododo, an ally of former Governor Yahaya Bello, won with 446,237 votes, defeating Ajaka of the SDP, who received 259,052 votes. Dino Melaye of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) came third with 46,362 votes.

Ajaka, dissatisfied with the election outcome, filed a petition with the tribunal in December 2023, contesting Ododo’s victory.

INEC, Ododo, and the APC had urged the tribunal to dismiss Ajaka and SDP’s petition for being incompetent and lacking merit.