Olu Samuel, Lokoja
Kogi State Governor, Ahmed Usman Ododo has hailed the decision of the Kogi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal which upheld his election as the duly elected Governor of the state.
This was contained in a statement issued on Tuesday by the special Adviser to the governor on media and publicity,Ismaila Isah
In an interview with journalists in Abuja on Monday, Governor Ododo dedicated the victory at the tribunal to the people of the state.
According to him “the tribunal’s victory further affirmed our conviction that God alone gives power to whomever He wishes at any point in life, adding that the ruling of the tribunal is a call for more dedication to the service of the people of Kogi State.”
While commending President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for ensuring the independence of the judiciary, Governor Ododo stressed that the courts remain the hope of the common man and bastion of justice, equity and fairness that sustain democracy any where in the world.
“We call on opposition parties in the state to join hands with us to ensure rapid development of the state in the interest of unity and peaceful coexistence of the people of the state.
Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo was elected the fifth Executive Governor of Kogi State having scored 446, 237 votes to defeat his closest challenger Muritala Ajaka of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) who scored 259, 052 votes in the November 11, 2023 Governorship election.
The SDP candidate, Muritala Ajaka and candidates of the Action Alliance (AA) Olayinka Braimoh and Abdullahi Yunusa of the People’s Redemption Party (PRP) subsequently challenged the election of Governor Ododo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in separate petitions.
After months of intense legal battles, the Kogi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja on Monday affirmed Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo of the APC as the duly elected governor of Kogi State thereby dismissing the petitions of Muritala Ajaka of the SDP, Olayinka Braimoh of AA and Abdullahi Yunusa of PRP for lack of merit.