The Kogi State Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal, sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday dismissed the petition filed by former Senator representing Kogi West, Dino Melaye, challenging the victory of his successor, Smart Adeyemi, at the November 2019 by-election.
Recall that following the nullification Mr Melaye’s election by the Court of Appeal, a rerun election was held on November 38.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had declared Mr Adeyemi of the All Progressives Congress, who garnered 88,373 votes as the winner of the poll.
INEC declared that he defeated Melaye of the Peoples Democratic Party who polled 62,133.
But Mr Melaye had in his petition urged the tribunal to declare him the winner of the election or order a fresh election.
However, while delivering judgment on the petition on Wednesday, the three-man panel led by Justice Isa Sambo, unanimously affirmed Adeyemi’s election as the winner of the disputed poll.
The tribunal held that both Melaye and his party failed to prove their claims in the petition.
It held that the evidence of the witnesses called by the petitioners was discredited during cross-examination and turned out to be “worthless, unreliable and unmerited statement”, and as such could not be relied on.
