By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

ABUJA—Former governor of Kogi State, Idris Wada of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday failed to persuade the State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja to return him to power.

In their unanimous judgment, the Justice Hamima Mohammed-led three-man tribunal dismissed the appeal Wada lodged against the declaration of Yahaya Bello of All Progressives Congress, APC, as winner of the 2015 governorship election in the state.

Wada had through his lawyers, led by Chief Chris Uche, SAN, challenged the process that led to Bello’s emergence as candidate of the APC for the December 6, 2015, supplementary election.

He contended that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, contravened the electoral law by accepting to allow the APC Bello replace its previous governorship candidate, Prince Abubakar Audu, who died before the November 21 election was concluded.

*Wada

He urged the tribunal to determine if Bello was qualified to be declared governor even though he did not take part in all the electoral processes that led to the supplementary poll.

Wada prayed the tribunal to declare him winner of the election, being the living candidate with the highest number of votes in the poll.

Besides, he argued that his successor went into the supplementary poll without a valid running-mate.

In his view, Faleke withdrew from the race before the election.

However, the tribunal, yesterday, dismissed the appeal for lack of merit.

The tribunal held that the petitioner lacked the locus-standi to query Bello’s nomination by the APC.

It ruled that neither the petitioner, the tribunal nor any other person who did not participate in the primary of the party, had the legal capacity to inquire into the nomination of the party’s candidate.

The tribunal stressed that issue relating to nomination of candidate for an election is within the domestic affairs of a political party which no court is permitted to delve into.

While upholding the preliminary objection Bello, APC and INEC raised against the petition, the Justice Mohammed-led panel waved aside Wada’s contention that APC ought to have given 21 days notice to the electoral body before it substituted its governorship candidate.

The tribunal said the 21 days period for the substitution of candidate did not apply since Bello is a member of APC and also emerged second in the substantive primary election that produced its late candidate.

Similarly, the tribunal said it could not place any probative value on card reader report that was tendered before it, saying the electoral law as presently constituted, “is blind to card reader”.

It said the petitioner failed to by preponderance of evidence and testimonies of the two witnesses that testified on his behalf,   prove his allegation that the election was marred by irregularities.