Usman Ododo, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the November 11, 2023 election for governor of Kogi State, has asked a Federal High Court in Abuja to dismiss a suit seeking his disqualification.

Ododo, through his attorney Musa Abdullahi, SAN, informed the court that, contrary to the allegations in the suit, he resigned from his position with Kogi State in accordance with the law and is therefore eminently qualified to run in the upcoming election.

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At the Wednesday court hearing, the APC candidate maintained that he did not violate any laws when he submitted his party's Expression of Interest form and when he ran for and won the party's primary election.

The candidate for governor stated that he submitted his resignation letter to the office of the state governor on March 8, 2023, and that it was received by the appropriate body the same day.

He drew the Court's attention to Section 306 of the 1999 Constitution and added that his resignation had begun to take effect on the date the letter was submitted, regardless of whether it was acknowledged, accepted, or not.

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Ododo asserted that the plaintiff in the lawsuit was unable to refute his claim of resignation with documentary evidence, including pay stubs or salary payments.

In addition, the APC candidate for governor argued that the plaintiff acted prematurely in initiating the lawsuit and that the cause of action had not yet arisen at the time the case was submitted.

Therefore, he urged the court to rely on his 19-paragraph affidavit and dismiss the plaintiff's case for lack of merit, incompetence, and lack of foundation.

The APC adopted the position of the governorship candidate through its attorney Abdulwahab Mohammed, SAN, who requested that the lawsuit be dismissed with substantial costs.

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On Wednesday, before Justice Obiora Egwatu, the plaintiff's attorney, Daniel- Ebune, used sixteen exhibits to support the Original Summons/case.

He insisted that Ododo had violated sections 20, 21, 124, and 147 of the Constitution of 1999, as well as section 159 of the Evidence Act, and he urged the judge to apply the provisions of the law to disqualify the gubernatorial candidate.

After hearing the attorneys' arguments, Justice Obiora Egwuatu set the date of July 18 for rendering a decision in the matter.