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Smart Adeyemi, 4 others approach court to cancel APC governorship primary in Kogi

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The senator representing Kogi West, Smart Adeyemi and four others on Thursday asked the Federal High Court, Abuja, to cancel the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary in the state.

The former Auditor-General for Local Governments in Kogi, Ahmed Usman-Ododo, on April 11 secured the APC governorship ticket in the state after he defeated Adeyemi and four others in the primary election.

However, the aspirants had rejected the outcome of the election and described the process as a fraud.

The plaintiffs are challenging the process in the suits marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/556/2023 and FHC/ABJ/ CS/557/2023 filed by Mr. Adekunle Otitoju on behalf of Adeyemi and Shuaibu Abubakar, the son of former governor of Kogi State, Abubakar Audu.

Other aspirants challenging the outcome of the primary are a former Minister of State for Education, Prof. Stephen Ocheni, Deputy National Publicity Secretary of APC, Martala Ajaka and Mr. Sanusi Ohiara.

READ ALSO: Smart Adeyemi tags Kogi APC primaries as ‘rape of democracy’

They asked the court to declare the direct primary election which produced Ododo as the APC governorship candidate as illegal.

The plaintiffs insisted that the process ran foul of Section 177 of the 1999 Constitution, Section 29 and 84 of the Electoral Act as well as Article 20 of the APC Constitution.

They urged the court to invoke Section 177 of the Constitution, Section 29 and 84 of the Electoral Act and Article 20 of the APC Constitution to declare the election invalid.

They also asked the court to issue an order compelling the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to reject the name of Ododo as APC’s governorship candidate on the grounds that he emerged from an invalid primary election.

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