The Kogi State Government has described Governor Usman Ododo’s electoral victory at the Court of Appeal as a huge leap forward.
Information commissioner Kingsley Fanwo told newsmen on Thursday in Lokoja that the victory had affirmed Ododo as the people’s choice.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the SDP and Murtala Ajaka, its candidate in the Kogi Governorship contest, had sued INEC, Ododo and the APC to challenge Ododo’s victory.
NAN reports that the State Election Petition 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 its governorship candidate, Ajaka, failed to prove all the allegations in their petition beyond reasonable doubt.
An excited Fanwo, while reacting to the judgment, said it represented “echoes of the indisputable victory of our governor at the poll”.
“Ododo will remain unwavering in his faith in the judiciary.
“Today’s judgement represents echoes of our victory on Nov. 11, 2023. We campaigned and worked hard to reassure the people that our party is the most reliable to take the state forward.
“Nov. 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,” he said .
He said that the court case did not slow down governance as the Governor 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 a “confluence of excellence”. (NAN)