Supreme Court Upholds Governor Alia’s Election Victory
The Supreme Court has upheld the election of Hyacinth Alia of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the duly elected governor of Benue state.
In its judgement on Monday, January 8, a five-member panel of the apex court, presided over by John Okoro, dismissed two appeals filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the last governorship election, Uba Titus, seeking to nullify Alia’s victory.
The panel said the appeals did not count as post-election matters.
According to the court, the parties had agreed that the dismissal order for the first appeal – designated SC/CV/1162/2023 – should be applied to the second – marked SC/CV/1164/2023.
Alia, his deputy, Samuel Ode, and a few other leaders in the state were present to observe the proceedings.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Alia as the winner of the March 18 governorship election in the state.
He polled 473,933 votes to defeat his closest rival – Uba – who scored 223 913.
The INEC’s returning officer in the state and vice-chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Minna, Faruq Kuta, announced the result on Monday, March 20.
