The Court of Appeal in Abuja has upheld the election victory of Hyacinth Alia as the governor of Benue State.
Hyacinth Alia was declared the winner of the governorship election held on March 18 by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The governor polled 473,933 votes.
Despite the declaration, Titus Uba, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Benue, filed a petition contesting Hyacinth Alia’s victory.
In September, the governorship tribunal affirmed Alia’s election.
Chairman Ibrahim Karaye, leading the three-member tribunal panel, stated that they lacked jurisdiction to address the petition as it pertained to a pre-election matter.
Karaye emphasized that Titus Uba should have pursued the forgery allegation against Sam Ode, the Benue deputy governor, in the high court rather than bringing it before the tribunal.
Uba and the PDP then appealed the ruling of the tribunal.
Ruling on the appeal on Monday, the court’s three-member panel led by Onyekachi Aja Otisi, held that Uba failed to prove allegations of forgery against Ode beyond reasonable doubt.