The Kogi State Government has described Governor Usman Ododo’s electoral victory at the Court of Appeal as a huge leap forward.
The Commissioner for Information, Kingsley Fanwo, made this known in Lokoja, the state capital, to newsmen on Thursday.
Fanwo said the victory had affirmed Ododo as the people’s choice.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the SDP and Murtala Ajaka, its candidate in the Kogi State governorship contest, had sued the Independent National Electoral Commission, Ododo and the All Progressives Congress to challenge Ododo’s victory.
NAN reports that the Kogi State Election Petitions Tribunal, after hearing all sides, dismissed the petition.
Not satisfied, SDP and Ajaka appealed the judgement of the tribunal before the appellate court.
The three-member panel of Justices, in a judgment, agreed with the state election tribunal that the SDP and Ajaka failed to prove all the allegations in their petition beyond reasonable doubt.
Also Read:
- Obi condemns release of Rivers fund allocation despite Supreme Court judgment
- Fubara distances self from militant groups, explosions in Rivers
- Fuel tanker explodes while offloading in Niger
- 12 inmates escape in Kogi jail break
- Coalition of Political Leaders: Clarification, by Salihu Moh. Lukman
An excited Fanwo, while reacting to the judgment, said it represented “echoes of the indisputable victory of our governor at the poll”.
He said: “Ododo will remain unwavering in his faith in the judiciary.
“Today’s judgement represents echoes of our victory on November 11, 2023.
“We campaigned and worked hard to reassure the people that our party is the most reliable to take the state forward.
“November 11 will continue to be remembered in Kogi as the day that the citizens resolved to speak with one voice, birthing a resounding victory for the incumbent Governor.
“Today’s verdict has offered another great opportunity for those who lost at the poll and in the courts to join the governor in moving the state forward.”
Fanwo said that the court case did not slow down governance as Ododo had continued to “roll up his sleeves and deliver democracy dividends to the people”.
According to him, the jubilation that greeted the verdict affirming the victory is a demonstration of the triumph of the people’s will.
The Commissioner urged the people to continue to support Ododo’s bid to make Kogi State a “confluence of excellence”.
Follow The Eagle Online Channel on WhatsApp
