A former Kogi State Governor, Captain Idris Wada, has told the State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal that he won last year’s election in the state.
Wada, who spoke on Tuesday through one of his witnesses in the case, Joe Agada, said he won the election with 204,877 votes.
This, Wada, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, said was against 6,885 votes scored by Governor Yahaya Bello of the All Progressives Congress.
Agada, who was led in evidence by Wada’s counsel, Chief Chris Uche (SAN), said Bello cannot inherit the votes scored by the late Audu Abubakar.
He argued that Audu scored 240,867 votes in the November 21, 2015 governorship election, but died at 7:45am on November 22, 2015 before the election was concluded.
The witness further stated that the APC had no valid candidate for the supplementary election because at the time Bello was substituted, the statutory time allowed for substitution had elapsed.
Giving a breakdown of the total votes cast and scored by the APC and the PDP in the disputed governorship election, Agada stated that the PDP polled 204,877 votes, while Bello, the APC’s substituted candidate, had only 6, 885 votes.
He maintained under cross examination by counsel to the respondents that by statute, the votes cast for Audu remained void.
Agada further argued that Governor Bello did not participate in the November 21 governorship election as he did not have a Permanent Voters Card.
He told the tribunal that as at the time the election was declared inconclusive by the Independent National Electoral Commission , none of the candidate won the election.
Meanwhile, the tribunal admitted as exhibits Agada’s statement on oath, result sheets from the 2,548 polling units in the state, Voter register and PDP letter of protest to INEC.
Other documents admitted by the tribunal included the witness’s party membership card, voter card and letter of his appointment as PDP chief agent at INEC coalition centre.
Chief Akin Olujimi (SAN) appeared for the APC, Dr. Alex Iziyon (SAN) is counsel to INEC at the tribunal, while Joseph Daudu (SAN) in the lead counsel for Governor Bello.
