The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Kogi State has adjourned, pending the completion of the inspection of election materials by the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
The Tribunal had earlier ordered Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue certified copies of electoral materials from the November 11 off-cycle election in the state to the SDP within 48 hours.
The Tribunal also ordered INEC to allow SDP’s forensic experts to examine some electoral materials. These materials include the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System and result sheets for Adavi, Okene, Okehi, Ogori-Magongo, Ajaokuta, Lokoja, Kogi, and Bassa Local Government Areas.
Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Ado Birnin-Kudu, gave the order following two ex-parte motions filed on November 19 by the SDP and its governorship candidate.
At the resumed hearing on Wednesday, lead Counsel to SDP, Mr John Adele (SAN), told the Justice Ado Birnin-Kudu panel that INEC had started complying with the tribunal’s order for the release of electoral materials for their inspection.
“My Lord, INEC has started complying but only this morning some protesters barricaded the road to its (commission’s) office and we don’t know why,” Adele said.
Recall that the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Alhaji Usman Ododo, won the election with 446,237 votes, while his closest rival, Murtala Yakubu Ajaka of SDP, secured 259,052 votes.
