Kogi: Joy In Yahaya Bello’s Camp As Court Declares PDP Had No Guber Candidate

A Kogi High Court sitting in Lokoja has voided the Sept. 3, 2019 People’s Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primary, saying the party had no candidate in the Nov. 16 state Governorship Election.

Justice John Olorunfemi of the State High Court IV, Lokoja, in a judgment delivered on Thursday declared that the primary which produced Engr Musa Wada as the party’s flag bearer was fraught with irregularities.

The implication of the judgment would make the party’s peitition against the election of Alhaji Yahaya Bello irrelevant as it would mean that the PDP would not have a candidate to drive the petition.

Abubakar Ibrahim Idris, the Governorship aspirant and son of former Gov. Ibrahim Idris, had approached the court to challenge the emergence of Wada as the party’s flag bearer on grounds that the primary was inconclusive.

He had said that if all the missing votes that were actually for him were counted, he would have won but for the disruption and therefore, urged the court to declare him winner of the primary.

But the Judge declared, “an hour-long downpour and sporadic gunshots which led to delegates scampering for safety cannot be said to be fair enough to produce a candidate.”

He said, “Neither the claimant, Alhaji Abubakar Idris nor the defendant, Engr Musa Wada can lay claim to be the authentic flagbearer of the People’s Democratic party since the primary was inconclusive.”

Olorunfemi also held that the claimant who averred that he would have won the primary conducted by the 1st defendant, if the missing votes which belonged to him were added to his votes, could not convince the court to deliver judgement in his favour.

He further submitted that the second defendant could not convince the court that he actually won the party primary, which was marred with rancour and acrimony.

He said that the primary was greeted by pandemonium arising from sporadic gunshots that compelled the participants to scamper for safety.

Reacting to the judgment, the PDP in Kogi state in a statement made available to newsmen said the judgment would be tested at a higher court.

Mr Bode Ogunmola, the state Publicity Secretary of the party, urged the party members and supporters to be calm and advised them to keep hope alive, saying that in the long run, justice would be served.

The PDP said the legal department of the party was already studying the judgment and assured that necessary legal steps would be taken to ensure that the wishes of the people were respected.

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