Governor Yahaya Bello

The Supreme Court has upheld the election of Yahaya Bello as the Governor of Kogi State.

In its Judgement delivered on Monday, the Apex Court, led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad, disagreed with the appeal filed on five grounds by the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Kogi Governorship Election, Musa Wada.

Mr Wada claimed that the election held on November 16, 2019, was riddled with serious electoral infractions; rigging and over-voting, and that Governor Bello didn’t secure the highest vote.

The apex court also dismissed the seven grounds of appeal filed by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and its candidate, Natasha Akpoti, which includes an allegation of age falsification against the Kogi State Deputy Governor

Other members of the panel include Justices Olabode Rhodes-Vivour, Sylvester Ngwuta, Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, Inyang Okoro, Amina Augie, Uwani Abba-Aji.

Mr Wada approached the Supreme Court after his petition was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on July 4th, 2020 with a split decision of two to one.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) returned Bello as the duly elected governor on November 18, 2019, having scored the highest number of votes in the poll.

He got a total of 406,222 votes to beat his closest rival, Wada who scored 189,704 votes and Akpoti who garnered a total of 9,482 votes.

Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, has declared two weeks lockdown in Kabba-Kunnu Local Government Area for contact tracing of COVID-19 cases in the state, after an extensive denial by the government.

It was gathered that the governor said though the state government had a reservation for the NCDC’s announcement of COVID-19 cases in the state, it was locking down the area as a proactive step.

He called on security operatives in the state to ensure that the lockdown was effectively enforced.

Bello promised adequate palliatives to cushion the effect of the lockdown in the affected area.

“I do not enjoy lockdown as I know the economic, social, and even health implications of such a decision. But we have to take a proactive step and provide effective leadership in ensuring that our people are safe,” he added.

The Governor, however, described as “suspicious” the declaration of two positive cases in the state.

“NCDC did not carry health officials in the state along in its investigation prior to the so-called confirmation,” Bello complained.

The NCDC had last week announced two index cases of COVID-19 in Kogi since the pandemic was first reported in February.

When the index cases were first announced, the Kogi State Government disassociated itself from the NCDC results.

Governor Yahaya Bello

Supreme Court Affirms Yahaya Bello As Kogi Governor

COVID-19: Kogi Gov, Yahaya Bello Declares Two Weeks Total Lockdown