Natasha Akpoti is now facing another major challenge after her victory at the Tribunal yesterday as reported by ENigeria Newspaper.
You would recall that ENigeria Newspaper broke the news of her victory after Natasha Akpoti candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was pronounced winner of the February 25 senatorial election in Kogi Central.
The Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Lokoja, capital of Kogi State declared Natasha the winner in a judgment read on Wednesday morning. ENigeria Newspaper reported that the tribunal Chairman, Justice K.A. Orjiakoin, in his ruling, said the PDP candidate scored 54,064 votes to defeat her closest rival Sadiku-Ohere, who polled 51,291 votes.
He therefore urged Abubakar Sadiku Ohere to pay Natasha Akpoti N500,000 for the cost of the petition.
Even though the judgment of the tribunal should ordinarily elate Akpoti, ENigeria Newspaper reports that she is currently facing a major headache, this is as her victory at the tribunal is now being challenged by way of an appeal now being considered by Senator Abubakar Sadiku Ohere.
In a statement by Ohere, he rejected the tribunal’s decision which declared Natasha Akpoti as the winner of the Feb. 25 senatorial election in Kogi Central.
The APC federal lawmaker expressed worry over the tribunal’s position that as a respondent, he should have filed a cross-petition to be able to challenge votes in an election petition.
In his opinion, the decision is contrary to Paragraph 15 of the First Schedule to the Electoral Act, 2022.
Calling on his supporters to still have hope in the Court of Appeal where he intends to take his grievances, Senator Abubakar Sadiku Ohere stated:
“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 the 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 know that I have the option 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.”
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Source: ENigeria Newspaper
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