Appeal court upholds election of Kwara governor

The court of appeal sitting in Abuja has upheld the election of Abdulfatah Ahmed as governor of Kwara state.

At its sitting on Wednesday, the court dismissed the suit filed by Simeon Ajibola, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2015 governorship election in the state.

A three-man panel of judges at the sitting ruled that Ajibola’s appeal against Ahmed’s election lacked merit.

The panel, led by Peter Ige, also awarded the cost of N2.5 million in favour of Ahmed, the first respondent, and the All Progressives Congress (APC), his party and second respondent.

In April 2016, a federal high court in Abuja had upheld the election of Ahmed.

The court had ruled that the PDP candidate lacked the locus standi to query the primary election that saw the emergence of Ahmed as the APC candidate.

The high court judgement was echoed by the court of appeal which maintained that Ajibola has no legal backing to inquire how the primary election of another political party was conducted.

The court also directed that the sum of N1 million be paid in favour of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) which was named as the third respondent in the suit.