Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello says he has accepted the Appeal Court’s verdict affirming Natasha Akpoti-Uduagan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the duly elected candidate for the Kogi Central Senatorial Election held in February 2023.
He made this known to State House reporters after attending the meeting of the National Police Service Council at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Tuesday.
“I, as the executive governor of Kogi State received the news of the decision of the Court of Appeal nullifying the election of Senator Abubakar Sadiq Ohere and affirming Barrister Natasha Akpoti as the senator representing Kogi Central.
“I accept the decision of the Appeal Court and I use this opportunity to congratulate my sister, Barrister Natasha as a senator of the Kogi Central Senatorial District,” he said.
The court had dismissed the appeal filed by Abubakar Ohere of the All Progressives Congress for lacking in merit.
The state’s Election Petitions Tribunal had in September declared Akpoti-Uduagan winner of the Kogi Central Senatorial election and invalidated the victory of Ohere.
The Tribunal Chairman, Justice K. A. Orjiako, delivered the unanimous judgment of the three-person panel, revealing that Ohere’s results were inflated in nine polling units in the Ajaokuta Local Government Area.
