The Election Petition Appeal Tribunal sitting in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, had again upheld the election of Senator Dino Melaye of the All progressives Congress [APC].
Earlier, a petition tribunal had upheld Dino Melaye’s election as the winner of the National Assembly election held on March 28, 2015.
Melaye’s election as senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District at the March 28 National Assembly election was challenged by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate, Senator Smart Adeyemi, who alleged that the election was fraught with irregularities.
Adeyemi further told the tribunal that Melaye did not participate in the APC senatorial primary, hence, he was not qualified to contest the election ab initio.
But the Tribunal Chairman, Justice Akon Ikpeme in her ruling, which lasted about two hours, faulted all the five grounds upon which the petitioner (Smart Adeyemi) hinged his case and thereby dismissed the petition for lack of merit.
Akin to the first ruling, the Appeal tribunal also threw out Adeyemi’s petition for lack of merit.
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