The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, suffered a huge defeat on Friday, November 29, as an appeal court sitting in Jos, Plateau, ruled in favour of Simon Lalong, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2019 governorship election.
According to Channels Television reports that Justice Adumein Otisi, who led the judgement, threw out the appeal filed by PDP’s Jeremiah Useni for lacking merit.
The appeal court also fined Useni the sum of N200,000 in favour of Lalong and the APC.
Newsflash247 had earlier reported how supporters and members of the PDP in Benue were, on Thursday, November 28, were greeted with the news that the appeal court had delivered a ruling in favour of Governor Samuel Ortom.
The judgement was delivered in Abuja with the court throwing away the appeal filed by Emmanuel Jime, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the governorship election of March 9.
The ruling was a decision unanimously taken by the panel of judges with the argument that Jime’s appeal lacked merit.
In his reaction, Jime said he had accepted the outcome of the appellate court in good faith.
He, however, said in a statement by his spokesman, Kula Tersoo, in Makurdi, that Ortom did not win the 2019 gubernatorial election in Benue.
Jime said he would meet with his team of lawyers to study the judgement in order to decide his next move.
“Today too, we receive the Court of Appeal judgement in good faith, but remain resolute in our contention that, by the majority of lawful votes cast, Samuel Ortom did not win that election,” he said.
