Kogi gov extols Appeal Court for affirming election victory

Governor Ahmed Ododo of Kogi State has welcomed the Appeal Court’s judgment that upheld the May 27 decision of the Kogi State governorship election petition tribunal.

In a statement signed and issued by the Special Assistant to the governor on Media, Ismail lsah, on Friday, the governor thanked the people of Kogi State for their support and expressed appreciation to the judiciary for the swift and expeditious manner in which it dealt with the appeal.

He also said the court has again demonstrated that the mandate was freely given to him by the people of the state.

“I give thanks to God for seeing us through this phase of the court processes and I thank the people of Kogi state for uniting behind our administration and the steps we are taking to serve our people to the best of our ability.

“The judgement of the Appeal Court reaffirms the fact that the November 2023 Governorship election in Kogi State was free, fair, peaceful, and credible. By the grace of God, our administration has become the symbol of peace and unity in our state and we are committed to serving our people based on equity and inclusion.

“I thank the judiciary for staying true to its independence with this judgement of the Appeal Court that has reaffirmed the earlier decision of the Tribunal which is a clear testament that the mandate freely given to us by the people of Kogi State was done in the best interest of our state,” Ododo said.

He called on opposition politicians in the state to join him in advancing the development of the state, stressing that the judgement of the appeal court should now lay to rest the argument over the result of the 2023 governorship election and unite the people for the development of the state irrespective of political differences.

The governor also appreciated President Bola Tinubu for ensuring that the judiciary remains truly independent and transparent as the last hope of the common man in the country.

The Appeal Court had on Thursday upheld the May 27 decision of the Kogi State governorship election petition tribunal which upheld the election of Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the duly elected Governor of Kogi State having scored 446,237 votes which represents the majority of lawful votes cast in the November 11, 2023 Governorship election in the state.

The Appeal Court in a unanimous decision dismissed all grounds of appeals filed by candidates of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), the Action Alliance (AA) and the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) for being incompetent and for lacking in merit