The Governor of Kogi State Captain Idris Wada (rtd.) was today declared as the duly elected Governor of Kogi State by the Supreme Court.
His emergence as candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and subsequent election as Governor was challenged by Jibrin Echocho, who won the initial primaries of the party before a second primary was conducted, in which Wada won.
Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Strategy, Mr. Jacob Edi hailed the judgement, praising the Judiciary for again fulfilling its role as the last hope for the common man.
Echocho was winner of the first primaries conducted by PDP in 2011, but the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was forced to postpone the election in Kogi (and four other states), after a Federal High Court in Abuja held that the tenure of the five governors could not elapse on 29th May 2011, since they won their re-run elections.
When INEC eventually announced a new date for the election, PDP conducted fresh primaries in September 2011, and Wada emerged the winner. He then went on to defeat the candidate of the then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), former Governor Abubakar Audu, to emerge Governor of the state.
However, ever since the Supreme Court subsequently overruled the Federal High Court and ruled that the tenure of the governors indeed expired in May 2011, Echocho has been going from one rung of the court to another, arguing for the nullification of the primaries won by Wada and demanding an order setting aside Wada’s swearing-in and another directing INEC to conduct a fresh election.