The Kogi State National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal in Abuja has dismissed the petition by Senator Dino Melaye and upheld the election of Senator Smart Adeyemi as the senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District in the Senate .
In the lead judgement delivered by Justice Adamu Usma, the three-member panel of judges held that Melaye failed to prove the allegation that he scored the majority of the lawful votes.
Melaye of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had contended that he scored the majority of lawful votes in the November 16, 2019 Kogi West Senatorial election.
He alleged that he scored a higher number of votes than Adeyemi of the All Progressive Congress (APC).
However, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s Returning Officer, Prof Olaide Lawal, had declared that Adeyemi polled a total of 88,373 votes to defeat his main challenger, Melaye who polled 62,133 votes.
Meanwhile, Melaye’s lawyers have indicated their intention to appeal the judgement at the Court of Appeal.
