In a significant development, the Kogi State Election Petition Tribunal has upheld Natasha Akpoti-Uduagan as the victor in the Kogi Central senatorial election, while declaring Abubakar Ohere of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the invalid winner.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had initially announced Mr. Ohere, a former Kogi State Commissioner for Works, as the winner of the February election with 52,132 votes, narrowly defeating Ms. Akpoti-Uduagan, who was reported to have secured 51,763 votes, a mere 369-vote difference between them.

However, in a unanimous decision, a three-member tribunal panel led by Justice K. A. Orjiako concluded that the results for Mr. Ohere had been inflated in nine polling locations within the Ajaokuta Local Government Area (LGA).

The tribunal further revealed that INEC had intentionally reduced the results for Ms. Akpoti-Uduagan, and the results from three additional polling units were not recorded for the PDP candidate in the same LGA.

Following these corrections, the court declared Ms. Akpoti-Uduagan the legitimate victor of the election, with a revised vote tally of 54,074, surpassing Mr. Ohere’s 51,291 votes.

Credit: Peoples Gazette