Kogi guber poll: Abubakar Audu heads for tribunal

The candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria  in the Dec. 3 governorship election in Kogi, Abubakar Audu,has filed a petition challenging the result of the election as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

Mr. Audu, who filed the petition on Wednesday at the state High Court complex in Lokoja, raised a team of nine lawyers, led by Kola Awodehin ( SAN) and Charles Edosomwan (SAN) to handle the case.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that he also assembled 167 witnesses from 2,548 wards in the state to help him establish his case at the tribunal.

Defendants in the case are the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Idris Wada and his running mate, Yomi Awoniyi.

The state resident electoral commissioner and INEC are also joined in the suit.

Mr. Audu’s petition was hinged on three grounds; that Idris Wada, the candidate of the PDP in the election, did not win the majority of the lawful votes but that he Audu of ACN, had the majority of the lawful votes.

In the  petition dated Dec. 21, Mr. Audu further said that Mr. Wada of the PDP was not qualified to contest the governorship election and that the election was marred in some wards.

The petition was personally submitted at about 3 p.m. by Mr. Audu in company of his running mate, Henry Ojuola, and Dino Melaiye, as well as the state ACN chairman, Haddy Amaetuo and  Kunel Adegoge, a lawyer from the chambers of Banire and Associates, Lagos.

All the 167 witnesses and some party members also followed the petitioner to the court in a convoy.

The petition was received by Bisi Abawonda on behalf of the secretary of the tribunal.