By James Ogunnaike
Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has hailed the Supreme Court verdict upholding his election in the March 9 gubernatorial election in the State.
In a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Kunle Somorin and made available to newsmen in Abeokuta, the Governor described the verdict as not only a victory for the people, but for democracy, the judiciary and an attestation to the awesomeness of God.
The Governor said the outcome justifies popular belief that there was no reason for the election matter to have gone to the Supreme Court in the first instance.
Abiodun congratulated the good people of Ogun State, the All Progressives Congress and indeed all other parties that have shown support and solidarity for his administration, despite fielding candidates in the same election.
Following the earlier judgement of the 2019 Governorship Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal verdict which dismissed in entirety the claims of Mr. Adekunle Akinlade and the Allied People Movement’s petition, the Apex Court, the statement noted was apt in dismissing the appeal for lacking merit.
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Prince Abiodun wishes to thank the team of erudite lawyers for their diligence and masterfully display of knowledge of the law that ensured that he won in all the matters against him and his party. He appreciated the party chieftains at the National, State, Local Government and Ward levels whose support never wavered throughout the period”.
He assured the people of the State that their exemplary goodwill and demonstration of love during the period of litigation is reciprocated with more projects that will give meaning to his avowed stand on delivering the dividends of democracy to them without discrimination.
Abiodun hails the Judiciary for the lucid pronouncements on the matter, which he believes have deepened our jurisprudence and further enthroned democracy ethos and affirmed the supremacy of the people’s choice as a cardinal principle in democracy.
“With the ruling of the Supreme Court, which has finally laid to rest all concerns about the Governor and the propriety of his election, we once again extend our hands of fellowship to the APM and indeed all other parties to join hands with Prince Abiodun to move Ogun State to the next level of development.
Democracy is about people and the voice of the people is definitely the voice of God. Now that the court issues have been conclusively dealt with, the Dapo Abiodun-led APC government will continue to focus on activities that will lift majority of our people out of poverty, develop public infrastructure and our human capital needs, as well as and make life more meaningful for citizens, visitors and residents of the State.
For us, the total victory at the courts is not only a victory for the people but and attestation to the awesomeness of God who has made it all possible.
This verdict will further challenge Governor Abiodun to consolidate gains made so far in the state and inspire him to do more for the people whose mandate he holds dear and will not take for granted.
On its part, Ogun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Wednesday described the Supreme Court verdict that affirmed the victory of Prince Dapo Abiodun in the March 9 governorship election as a victory for democracy
In a press statement by the Publicity Secretary of APC Caretaker Committee, Tundefu Oladunjoye, the party said the verdict of “the Supreme Court, which was in concurrence with the earlier judgements of the Ogun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal and that of the Court of Appeal, Ibadan, was a reaffirmation that Prince Dapo Abiodun is God’s project”
He described the judgment as a validation of the popular saying that “when God says yes, no man can say no”.
“To us as a party, despite the harassment, violence and boasts of men, God spoke on March 9, 2019, the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court, has spoken today, therefore the needless distraction arising from day-dreaming litigations and court-shopping syndrome has been finally and permanently buried; and our Governor can now squarely face the business of governance in the execution of mandate freely given to him by the good people of Ogun State.”
“We had maintained right from the onset that Prince Dapo Abiodun’s clear victory at the election was a divine mandate and a true reflection of the choice of the good people of Ogun State. The Chairman of the Election Petition Tribunal, in a unanimous judgment described the Petition of our opponent and his mushroom party as “destined to fail”; the Court of Appeal in a unanimous ruling said it “lacked merit”; and the Supreme Court concurred with the judgement of the lower courts.”
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We congratulate Prince Dapo Abiodun, the entire members of our party at all levels, we thank our leaders at the national level and we urge all genuine lovers of development in our dear Ogun State to join hands with the Omoluwabi Governor in taking the State to the next level.
In the same vein, the Senator representing Ogun West Senatorial District, Sen. Tolu Odebiyi commended the seven-man panel of the Supreme court who validated the Ogun people’s decision to elect the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Prince Dapo Abiodun as the duly elected Governor of the State.
Odebiyi said “Democracy has truly been strengthened on this historic day. With this ruling, the Supreme Court has also affirmed that the rule of law is paramount and its decision is sacrosanct. I just have to applaud the highly competent Judges for the meticulous manner the judgement was delivered”.
“It is a clear indication that the people of Ogun state voted overwhelmingly for His Excellency Prince Dapo Abiodun”.
According to Odebiyi, the apex court has put indelible judicial seal to our victory. “It is a well-deserved legal affirmation of our victory”
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