The Supreme Court will on August 31 deliver judgment in the suits challenging the election of Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello.
The two appeals fixed for judgments are that of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate, Musa Wada and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and its candidate, Natasha Akpoti.
A seven man panel of the apex court on Tuesday led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, fixed the date to deliver judgments in two separate appeals challenging the victory of Bello shortly after taking the submissions of lawyers to parties in the separate suits.
At the hearing, PDP and Wada’s lawyer, Jibrin Okutepa (SAN), pleaded with the apex court to allow the appeal to succeed and to grant the reliefs sought by his clients.
However, Governor Bello’s lawyer, Joseph Daudu (SAN) and that of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Alex Izinyon (SAN) opposed and urged the court to dismiss the appeal for lacking in merit.
Daudu pleaded with the apex court to affirm the concurrent decisions of the Court of Appeal and the state governorship election petition tribunal.
The CJN after taking arguments announced that the court will deliver judgment in the matter on Monday August 31.
In the second appeal filed by the SDP and its governorship candidate Akpoti, the apex court also announced its decision to give final verdict on the same day with that of the PDP.
While arguing their briefs, the two appellants pleaded with the panel of the apex court to set aside the findings of the Court of Appeal and the tribunal and allow their appeal to succeed.
Izinyon and Daudu in their separate arguments pleaded for outright dismissal of the appeal.
