Rep. Leke Abejide, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate for the Nov. 11 Kogi governorship election, has urged the people to support Gov. Usman Ododo toward taking the state to a greater height.
Abejide, who represents Yagba Federal Constituency, at the National Assembly said this when he addressed some supporters in Lokoja on Monday .

“Politics is over since Ododo won the election and what is left for us as citizens is to support and join hands with his administration in building a secure and prosperous Kogi.
“Today, I’m calling on all Kogi indigenes to shun politics for now and support the government to achieve progress on all fronts, more so that the election was freely won.
“There is time for politics and time for governance. The time for politics is over, what is left is governance that can put smiles on people’s faces.
“We have had our election and a winner has emerged. I still find it surprising that some people are still working to pull down the government because of election that was freely won, with the people’s voice heard loud and clear, ” he said.
Abejide urged those who contested the election with Ododo, to put behind the election and give the governor the needed support to succeed.
“Let’s give the governor the desired support to work for the good of the generality of the people of zkogi,” Abejide said. (NAN)

The Bayelsa Independent Electoral Commission (BYSIEC) on Monday presented Certificates of Return to winners of the state April 6 local government councils poll.
BYSIEC Chairman, Dr Peter Singabele, presented the certificates at a ceremony at the Ernest Ikoli Press Centre, Nigeria Union of Journalists Secretariat, Yenagoa.

Speaking at the ceremony, Singabele congratulated them for their victory at the poll.
He urged them to deliver the dividends of democracy to the people at the grassroots.
Responding on behalf of other elected officials, the Chairman of Yenagoa local government council, Mr Bulodisiye Ndiwari thanked Gov. Douye Diri and other stakeholders for their support.
He pledged to justify the confidence reposed on them by striving hard to improve the quality of lives of the people.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won all eight Chairmanship and councillorship 105 seats at the poll.(NAN)

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Monday, tendered electoral documents against the petition by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and its candidate, Murtala Ajaka, challenging the election victory of Gov. Usman Ododo.

INEC’s counsel, Uchenna Njoku, who held the brief of Chief Kanu Agabi, SAN, tendered the documents before the Kogi State Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja.

It would be recalled that INEC conducted the Kogi governorship election on Nov.

11, 2023.

However, the SDP and its governorship candidate in the poll are challenging the declaration of Ododo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the poll.

In the petition, INEC, Ododo and APC are listed as 1st to 3rd respondents respectively.

Some of the documents tendered on Monday by the commission’s lawyer before the three-member panel of justices, led by Justice Ado Birnin-Kudu, include INEC Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of the Election; INEC Manuals for Electoral Officers and INEC Form EC8C.

Others include INEC Form EC8B; INEC Form EC8E; List of Accredited Agents for SDP; List of Accredited Ward Agents; Receipts of Payment for Forms, among others.

After the documents were tendered, Justice Birnin-Kudu admitted them in evidence and marked them as exhibits.

Njoku then applied for an adjournment to enable the electoral umpire present its witnesses on the next adjourned date.

The judge adjourned the matter until April 16 for continuation of hearing.

Earlier, Justice Birnin-Kudu, who observed that the SDP’s petition would elapse on May 29, said there was the need to amend the number of days earlier given for the 2nd and 3rd respondents to present their case and for the filing of the final written addresses of the parties.

He, therefore, reduced the number of days to five instead of the earlier 10 days given for the respondents’ lawyers to present their case.

He assured that where five days would not be enough, the panel would not hesitate to give additional more days.

He solicited for the cooperation of the parties in this regard.

But APC’s counsel, Emmanuel Ukala, SAN, pleaded with the tribunal not to reduce the earlier days given to prepare their defence.

Ukala, who pledged the cooperation of the respondents in ensuring timely completion of their case, pleaded that the order on the schedule for hearing should not be amended.

The panel, however, clarified that the amendment to the order was done off record.

While Joseph Daudu, SAN, led Gov. Ododo’s team of lawyers, Jibrin Okutepa, SAN, led Ajaka’s team.

It could be recalled that SDP and Ajaka had, on April 5, closed their case after calling 25 witnesses.(NAN)