Captain Idris Wada remains Kogi governor after Supreme Court Ruling

Captain Idris Wada (rtd) on Monday survived the bid by the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and its candidate, Alhaji Abubakar Audu, to unseat him as the governor of Kogi State.

Audu and ACN were challenging Wada’s election as governor of the state in the December 2011 governorship election, which the Election Petition Tribunal earlier upheld on 12th July.

But the full panel of the apex court, headed Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Muhktar, unanimously threw the suit out based on failure of the applicants to file the appeal within the stipulated time of 14 days after the earlier judgement.

Counsel to Audu, Charles Edomsomwan (SAN) had prayed the court to permit the appeal, admitting that filing it outside the stipulated time was his error. He claimed to have erroneously thought he had 21 days instead of the 14 days provided for, and urged the court to exercise its discretion in a manner that would not affect hearing the merit of the appeal.

However, counsel to PDP, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) tendered a counter affidavit opposing the application for extension of time, reminding the court that it lacked the jurisdiction to hear it in the first place, as provided for by Section 285 (7) of the 1999 Constitution as amended.