The Kogi State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal on Monday dismissed the petition filed by James Faleke, challenging the election of Governor Yahaya Bello.

The tribunal held that Faleke has no locus standi to file any such petition.

Faleke was the running mate to Abubakar Audu, who was the flagbearer for the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the Kogi State governorship election held on November 21, 2015.

But Audu, who was already cruising to victory in the polls, died just before the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, could announce a conclusive result.

Consequently, Bello, who had come second in the APC governorship primaries, was chosen to replace Audu, but this did not go down well with Faleke who felt that he should have been the natural replacement for the deceased candidate

Faleke approached the election petitions tribunal, seeking to be declared as the valid candidate of the APC for the election and hence, the governor.

But the three-man tribunal led by Justice Halima Mohammed, dismissed the petition for lacking in merit, saying that Faleke lacked locus standi to challenge Bello’s election since he was never sponsored by the APC as a governorship candidate in both the November 21 election and the supplementary poll held on December 6.