The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Monday, November 20, upheld the election of Hyacinth Aaliyah as governor of Benue State, while dismissing the appeal of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the last governorship election,
Titus Uba, the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party in the March 18 gubernatorial election, appealed to the Court of Appeal to overturn the tribunal’s ruling in favor of Aaliyah’s election.
At the court, Uba alleged, among other things, that Alia’s lawyer, Samuel Ode, gave false testimony to the Independent National Electoral Commission in violation of Article 182(1)(j) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999. ). He also said that Alia name was submitted less than 180 days after the election date, while Ode was not nominated to INEC after the party held another primary.
Alia contested the March 18 governorship election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress. A three-member panel of the tribunal led by Justice Ibrahim Karaye dismissed the petition on the grounds that it was a pre-election matter and time-barred.
Responding to the appeal on Monday, a three-man panel of the Court of Appeal, led by Justice Onyekachi Aja Otisi, ruled that Uba failed to prove the false allegations against Ode beyond reasonable doubt.
