The Independent Democratic Monitors, IDM, has described the ruling of the Appeal Court affirming the election of Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia, as a welcome development.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Monday dismissed an appeal filed before it by the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Titus Uba seeking to upturn Alia’s election.
Newspot recalls that the Benue State Election Petition Tribunal had on September 23 dismissed Uba’s petition for lacking merit.
But the PDP candidate, who alleged that the Deputy Governor Samuel Ode was not qualified to be a running mate during the election, sought redress at the Appeal Court.
Uba alleged that the deputy governor forged his Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC Form EC9 and as such, was not qualified to run for the election.
However, ruling on the matter on Monday, Justice Onyekachi Otisi, while dismissing the allegation of non-qualification, held that the PDP candidate failed to establish the forgery allegation beyond reasonable doubt.
Reacting to the development, IDM in a statement issued by its Executive Secretary, Dr. James Bawa, said the outcome has laid credence to the governorship tribunal which was also ruled in favour of Alia.
According to Bawa, the ruling is a testament to the confidence that the Benue people have in Alia and must be respected by all and sundry.
“This outcome has laid credence to the Benue State Elections Petition Tribunal which was also in Alia’s favour. We appreciate the due diligence done by the judiciary in arriving at this conclusion.
“We want to use this medium to urge the opposition to support the governor. We also believe now is the time for work and action”, the statement added.
