A three man panel of the Kogi State Election Tribunal has dismissed an application seeking to stop the January 27 swearing-in of the State Governor Elect, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, saying the motion was incompetent.
The panel led by Justice Halima Mohammed on Thursday dismissed the motion exparte filed by the Labour Party, LP, against the state governor elect in Lokoja, the state capital.
Mohammed had held that the application to hear the matter outside the pre-hearing session ought to have been filed by way of motion on notice since an earlier motion exparte for substituted service of the petition on Alhaji Bello as first respondent in the petition was granted.
Counsel to the petitioner, Reuben Egwuaba, had earlier sought the leave of the tribunal, through the exparte motion, to hear the motion on notice restraining the 1st respondent (Bello) from presenting himself before the Chief Judge of the state for the purpose of swearing-in.
Egwuaba said Bello had no valid elected running mate as at the time the supplementary election was conducted, following his nomination as replacement for the deceased All Progressive Congress, APC, governorship candidate, Abubakar Audu.
“Consequent upon nomination of Alhaji Bello as replacement for Audu, Hon. James Faleke, who was Audu’s running mate withdrew and dissociated himself from participating in supplementary election as Bello’s running mate.
“Bello was declared governor-elect after the supplementary election. Now, the Labour Party that participated in all the stages of the elections on November 21 and December 5, submit that Bello was not qualified to participate in that election.
“Time is of the essence, more so that the swearing-in has been scheduled for January 27, the motion exparte is for leave of the tribunal to hear the Motion on Notice outside pre-hearing session and stop the inauguration as we proceed to hear the substantive case,” he said.
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