The Kogi State Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Lokoja on Thursday dismissed an ex parte motion seeking to stop the January 27 swearing-in of Alhaji Yahaya Bello as the governor of the state.

The Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Halima Mohammed, who dismissed the motion filed by the Labour Party, said the tribunal had no power to stop Bello’s inauguration.

She said that the application to hear the matter outside the pre-hearing session ought to have come by way of a motion on notice since an earlier ex parte motion for substituted service of the petition on Bell, as first respondent in the petition, was granted.


 
Counsel for the petitioner, Mr. Reuben Egwuaba, had sought the leave of the tribunal to restrain Bello from presenting himself before the chief judge of the state for the purpose of swearing in.

His reason was hinged on the fact that Bello did not have a validly-elected deputy governorship candidacy when the supplementary election was conducted after his nomination as replacement for the governorship candidate of the late Abubakar Audu who died on November 22, last year.

Following the nomination of Bello as replacement candidate for Audu, James Faleke, who was Audu’s running mate, refused to participate in the supplementary election as Bello’s running mate.

The Labour Party which participated in both the November 21 and December 5 elections submitted that Bello was not qualified to participate in that election.