Kogi state Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja has dismissed a petition filed by running mate to late Abubakara Audu, former All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the last Kogi state governorship election, James Faleke, against the candidacy of governor Yahaya Bello for lacking locus standi to file the petition.
A judgement delivered by the chairman of the tribunal which sat in Abuja, Halima Mohammed, on Monday declared that deciding the candidate of a political party is not under the jurisdiction of a court.
The judgement affiirmed that it is the prerogative of the political party to decide its candidate in an election.
Faleke was the running mate of late Abubakar Audu in the govership election that was declared inconclusive by the Independent National Eectoral Commission (INEC) just before Audu died.
APC then made Yahaya Bello, the man who came second to Abubakar Audu in its Kogi state governorship primary election, its candidate in the supplementary election INEC held to conclude the Kogi govership election.
But Faleke approached the tribunal with a petition alleging that Bello ought not to have been nominated or declared a winner of the rerun election of December 6th 2015 becase he was not a regstered voter in Kogi state among other reasons.
