The Supreme Court on Tuesday, January 21, upheld the election of Samuel Ortom of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as Benue Governor.
A seven-man panel of the court, led by Justice Olabode Rhodes-Vivour, dismissed the appeal by Emmanuel Jime, who contested as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, who read the lead judgment, held that the appellants (Jime and APC) failed to present any cogent reason to move the court to tamper with the concurrent decisions of the two lower courts, which both upheld Ortom’s election.
Another member of the panel, Justice Dattijo Mohammed, read the judgment in relation to the governorship dispute in Admawa State.
Earlier, The Herald reported that the victory of Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state in the March 9 governorship election has been upheld by the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja.
In a unanimous judgement delivered on Thursday, November 28, the court dismissed the appeal filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate in the poll, Emmauel Jime, for lacking in merit.
The judgment also resolved all the issues against the appellants. The appellate court also awarded the sum of N150,000 fine against the APC candidate.
The Herald gathered that Governor Ortom contested for re-election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after defecting from the APC.
On his part, Ortom described the judgment as a victory for the people of the state who gave him a second term mandate.
In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Terver Akase, he noted that verdict has not only validated the earlier judgment of the Governorship Election Tribunal but also confirmed the choice of Benue voters in the 2019 polls.
The governor also appreciated the leadership and members of the PDP in the state and the residents in general for the support given to him. He thanked his legal team for its outstanding performance at the Tribunal and the Court of Appeal.