INEC presents documents against SDP at Kogi gov tribunal
On Monday, at the Kogi State Governorship Petition Tribunal in Abuja, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) submitted electoral documents against the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and its candidate, Murtala Ajaka.
Challenging the declaration by INEC of Usman Ododo, the incumbent governor and candidate of the All Progressives Congress, as the winner of the November 11, 2023 governorship election, the SDP and its candidate are in opposition.
In the election, Ododo emerged victorious with 446,237 votes, defeating Ajaka of the SDP, who garnered 259,052 votes.
On April 6, 2024, the petitioners concluded their case after presenting 25 witnesses.
INEC initiated their case during Monday’s session by submitting various documents to the three-member panel of justices, headed by Justice Ado Birnin-Kudu.
Some of the documents presented by INEC’s legal representative, Uchenna Njoku, included the INEC Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of the Election, INEC Manuals for Electoral Officers, and INEC Form EC8C.
Additionally, documents like INEC Form EC8B, INEC Form EC8E, List of Accredited Agents for SDP, List of Accredited Ward Agents, and Receipts of Payment for Forms were also submitted.
After the documents were provided, Justice Birnin-Kudu accepted them as evidence and marked them as exhibits.
Subsequently, Njoku requested an adjournment to give INEC time to bring forward its witnesses on the next adjourned date.
The judge postponed the hearing until April 16 for further proceedings.
Prior to that, Justice Birnin-Kudu noted that the deadline for SDP’s petition was May 29, and reduced the days allotted for the respondents to present their cases and file the final written addresses from 10 to five days.
He assured that if the stipulated five days were insufficient, the panel would consider granting additional days as needed.