Senator Abubakar Ohere, representing Kogi Central, has said he received the Tribunal judgement that nullified his election with a great shock and vowed to head to the appeal court.
He said he was worried about how the Tribunal decided that as respondent, he ought to have filed a cross-petition to be able to challenge votes in an election petition.
Ohere said he felt strongly that the decision was contrary to paragraph 15 of the first schedule to the Electoral Act 2022.
The senator said this in a press statement signed by him, saying, “As a matter of fact, I presented before the Tribunal through my team of lawyers, a decision of the Appellate Court which held that a respondent does not need to file a cross-petition to challenge votes in an election petition, if the ground for challenging the election is “majority of lawful votes”.
“While I am waiting for my team of lawyers to give me full details on the judgment, I urge all my supporters to be calm and peaceful as their mandate is not lost.
“I verily know that I have option of appealing to the Court of Appeal which I shall exercise after due consultation with my lawyers.
“I am confident that we shall triumph at the next floor of justice by pointing to areas where we strongly disagree with the ruling. Your mandate shall be protected.
“I urge my supporters not to be disturbed but to believe that we will get it right”, the statement reads.
The Kogi State Election Petition Tribunal on Wednesday nullified the victory of Senator Ohere of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the Kogi Central senatorial election.
The court further declared Natasha Akpoti-Uduagan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the actual winner of the February senatorial election.
