The Benue State governorship election petition tribunal sitting in Makurdi, has affirmed the victory of Governor Hyacinth Alia from the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The tribunal dismissed the petition from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its gubernatorial candidate, Titus Uba, challenging the March 18 election results, citing a lack of jurisdiction to handle the matter.
The Independent National Electoral Commission had declared Alia the winner of the poll with 473,933 votes ahead of his closest rival Uba, who scored 223,913.
Chairman of the three-member panel of judges, Justice Ibrahim Karaye, stated that the tribunal lacked jurisdiction because the issues raised were related to pre-election matters, as outlined in section 285 of the Electoral Act.
The tribunal’s decision was based on the fact that the petitioner should have pursued their case regarding Governor Alia’s eligibility and nomination by the APC, as well as allegations of a forged certificate and false information on form EC9 against his deputy, Sam Ode, through the appropriate channels.
Specifically, the petitioner should have appealed the Federal High Court’s dismissal of their earlier suit to the Court of Appeal rather than directly to the tribunal.