Governor Hyacinth Alia of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has been declared duly elected by the Benue State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Makurdi, the state capital.
The panel ruled against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and their governorship candidate in the March 18 election, Titus Uba.
According to Section 285 of the Electoral Act, the three-person panel of judges chaired by Justice Ibrahim Karaye ruled that the tribunal lacked authority to hear the petition.
Alia had 473,933 votes, while his nearest rival Uba had 223,913, hence the Independent National Electoral Commission pronounced him the winner.
Uba, however, was not pleased with the outcome and petitioned the court to overturn Alia’s election.
The tribunal ruled that the petitioner should have taken the allegations of a fake certificate and misleading information on Form EC9 against Governor Alia’s deputy, Sam Ode, and the petitioner’s own non-qualification before INEC.
Support InfoStride News' Credible Journalism: Only credible journalism can guarantee a fair, accountable and transparent society, including democracy and government. It involves a lot of efforts and money. We need your support. Click here to Donate