Supreme Court of Nigeria Set to Deliver Verdict on Bayelsa and Kogi Governorship Election Disputes

The Supreme Court of Nigeria has announced that it will deliver its final judgments on the disputes arising from the conduct of governorship elections in Bayelsa and Kogi States in 2023. The court’s 5-man panel, led by Justice Garba Lawal, will make its decisions on Friday, August 23.

The apex court had heard arguments from lawyers representing various candidates in the disputes on Monday and reserved its judgments. Barrister Tunde Falola, Counsel to the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylvia, confirmed that the court has served notice of the judgment delivery to the parties involved.

Among the combatants in the disputes is Douye Diri, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who was declared the winner of the Bayelsa poll by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). In Kogi State, the battle is between the declared winner of the election, Usman Ahmed Ododo of the APC, and his challenger, Muritala Yakubu Ajaka of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

Both Douye Diri and Usman Ahmed Ododo had won at their respective State Governorship Election Petition Tribunals as well as at the Court of Appeal, both in Abuja, prior to the Supreme Court’s intervention.

The Supreme Court’s verdict is eagerly awaited by the parties involved and the general public, as it will bring an end to the legal tussles and uncertainty surrounding the outcome of the governorship elections in Bayelsa and Kogi States.