The Supreme Court, based in Abuja, has made a decisive ruling regarding the appeal brought forth by Abubakar Achimugu, a governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi State.
Achimugu’s appeal aimed to invalidate the primary election of the party, which had resulted in the selection of Usman Ododo as the APC’s gubernatorial candidate for the upcoming election scheduled for November 11.
A panel of Supreme Court justices, presided over by Justice Inyang Okoro, has dismissed Achimugu’s appeal.
Achimugu initially took his case to the Federal High Court, where he sought to disqualify Ododo based on the argument that Ododo did not resign from his position in the Kogi State public service at least 30 days before participating in the governorship primary election.
However, the trial court, in its verdict, found that contrary to Achimugu’s claim, the evidence presented indicated that Ododo had resigned from his position more than 30 days prior to participating in the APC primary election. Consequently, the court dismissed the suit. It was revealed that Ododo’s resignation letter had been received by the Office of the Kogi State Governor on March 8, while that of the 3rd defendant, Mr. Salami Deedat, was received on March 9.
The Appeal Court subsequently delivered a unanimous judgment, affirming that the appeal challenging the Federal High Court’s decision lacked merit and should be dismissed accordingly.
During the Supreme Court’s hearing of the appeal, Achimugu’s legal representative initially argued that the respondents had not resigned from their positions but later conceded that they had indeed resigned.
The Supreme Court then questioned the appellant’s counsel regarding why the issues for determination in the appellant’s brief did not challenge the perceived perversity in the decisions of both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal.
In light of this omission, the appellant’s counsel was advised to withdraw the appeal.
Subsequently, Achimugu withdrew his appeal, leading to the dismissal of the case.
