The National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal in Kogi State has invalidated Senator Abubakar Ohere’s victory in the Kogi Central senatorial election.
The tribunal declared Natasha Akpoti-Uduagan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the rightful winner of the February 25 parliamentary election.
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In a unanimous judgment delivered by the tribunal chairman, Justice K. A. Orjiako, it was revealed that Senator Ohere’s results had been inflated in 9 polling units of Ajaokuta Local Government Area during the election.
Furthermore, the votes for the PDP candidate were intentionally reduced in these 9 polling units by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Ward Collation officers.
Justice Orjiako also noted that the results of 3 other polling units were deliberately not entered for the PDP candidate in the same Local Government Area.
According to the tribunal chairman, Natasha Akpoti-Uduagan received 1,073 votes in the 9 affected polling units, as opposed to the 77 recorded by the Ward Collation officers, while the APC candidate’s figure was inflated to 1,553 against the actual count of 1,031.
“The Tribunal is also convinced that the petitioner’s 996 votes in polling units 009, 046, and 049 of Ganaja village in Ajaokuta LGA were deliberately not recorded at the Ward Collation center,” Justice Orjiako held.
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The tribunal resolved the issues raised by the petitioner in favor of Natasha Akpoti-Uduagan, declaring her the authentic winner with 54,074 votes, while Abubakar Ohere (APC) polled 51,291 votes.
Consequently, the tribunal ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw the certificate of returns issued to Ohere and issue it to the PDP Candidate, Natasha Akpoti-Uduagan.
The court also criticized INEC for allegedly colluding with political parties to manipulate the election results, ordering the electoral body to pay N500,000 to the PDP candidate for “subverting justice” in the senatorial election.
In response to the judgment, Johnson Usman (SAN), counsel to Natasha Akpoti-Uduagan, described it as a victory for the people of Kogi Central Senatorial District, Kogi state as a whole, and the electoral process.