Article summary
- President Buhari called for support for Governor Adeleke’s administration after the Supreme Court affirmed his victory.
- The president also recognized and acknowledged the important role of the judiciary in deepening the rule of law and democracy in Nigeria.
- The Supreme Court while affirming Governor Adeleke as the winner of the election, held that the appellant failed to show enough evidence to prove his allegation of overvoting and declared that the appeal lacked merit.
President Muhammadu Buhari has urged residents and citizens of Osun State to team up with Governor Ademola Adeleke and provide his administration with all the support needed to implement his policies and programmes.
The president’s statement is in reaction to the judgment of the Supreme Court which affirmed Governor Adeleke as the winner of the July 16, 2022, governorship election in Osun State.
This was made known by President Buhari through a series of tweet posts on his official Twitter account on Tuesday afternoon, where he recognized and acknowledged the important role of the judiciary in deepening the rule of law and democracy in Nigeria.
Time for harmony in Osun State
President Buhari in his statement said,
- ‘’With the final decision by the Supreme Court on the July 16, 2022 governorship election in Osun State, all hands should be on deck to provide Governor Ademola Adeleke’s administration all the support needed to implement programmes, policies and plans fashioned to make Osun flourish & succeed.
- ‘’The main task at hand is to make the people feel the impact of good governance that guarantees a prosperous, peaceful and stable Osun State.
- ‘’Elections should be seen as a path to an end, which is the progress of the people in a peaceful environment, rather than unending bickering. This is the time for inclusion and harmony in Osun State, at the end of litigation.
- ‘’Let me also recognize and acknowledge the important role of the judiciary in deepening rule of law and democracy in Nigeria.’’
Governor Adeleke wins in Supreme Court
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court had earlier in the day affirmed Governor Ademola Adeleke as the governor of Osun State.
The apex court had set aside the appeal by Adegboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) challenging the election of Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as Osun State Governor.
Delivering its verdict on Tuesday, Justice Emmanuel Agim, who read the judgment on behalf of the 5-member panel of the Supreme Court upheld the Appeal Court’s judgment which upheld the election of Adeleke as the state governor.
The apex court held that the appellant failed to adduce enough evidence to prove his allegation of overvoting in the July 16, 2022 governorship poll.
The judgment was affirmed and adopted by the entire five members of the panel, who stated that the appeal lacked merit.
