Kogi 2023: Court rejects Achimugu’s complaint against Ododo, others

The All Progressives Congress, its candidate for governor of Kogi State, Usman Ododo, Ozigi Deedat, and the Independent National Electoral Commission were all named in the Federal High Court of Abuja’s dismissal of Abubakar Achimugu’s case on Tuesday because it lacked merit.

In the primary election that was held on April 14, 2023, Ozigi Deedat and Ododo, who finished first and second, had asked for their disqualification. Achimugu, a candidate for governor, had done the same.

According to him, the pair did not resign, withdraw from, or retire from their positions as members of the Kogi State Government’s public service prior to the primary election.

The 2nd and 3rd defendants, on the other hand, were found to have properly resigned from their positions in government, even more than 30 days prior to the primary election date, according to Justice Egwuatu, who also determined that they were eligible to vote in the primary.

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He declared, “I have reviewed the resignation letters addressed to the governor of Kogi State. On March 8th, 2023, they were duly accepted. As of the letter’s receipt date, the resignation letters took effect.

The Constitution’s requirement of 30 days prior to the general election, rather than a party’s primary, for a public employee to resign, according to Justice Egwuatu, was changed.

According to him, there was no legal requirement that the letters of resignation be submitted to INEC or the APC, who are not their employers, and that the claimant’s claim that they were not with those organisations was unsupported by any legal authority.

Rather than a general election, a party primary was held on February 14, 2023.

As a result of their duly submitted resignations, the second and third defendants are eligible to vote in the primary.

Due to its lack of merit, he therefore dismissed the lawsuit.