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The National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal has upheld the election of Smart Adeyemi of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as senator representing Kogi West.
The tribunal, in a ruling on Wednesday, also dismissed the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Dino Melaye.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Adeyemi as winner of the election after he polled 88,373 votes to Melaye’s 62,133.
The three-man panel in a unanimous ruling said the petitioners’ witnesses failed to substantiate their claims in the petition to warrant granting Melaye his prayers.
They also held that Melaye failed to prove non-compliance with the standard of electoral acts in the election.
The tribunal said all the 71 witnesses called by the petitioners contradicted themselves during cross-examinations and made a “worthless, unreliable and unmerited statement” that cannot be relied on.
The court also rejected the videos and other documents presented by the petitioner during the final written addresses, because they were not pleaded during proceedings.
