Kogi State Governor, Ahmed Usman Ododo has hailed the decision of the State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal which upheld his election as the duly elected Governor of the state.
In an interview with journalists, Ododo dedicated the victory at the tribunal to the people of the state.
He noted that the tribunal victory further affirmed his 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, he stressed that the courts remain the hope of the common man and bastion of justice, equity and fairness that sustain democracy anywhere in the world.
The Governor called on opposition parties in the state to join hands with him to ensure rapid development of the state in the interest of unity and peaceful coexistence of the people of the state.
Ododo was elected the fifth 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.
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 Ododo of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in separate petitions.
After months of intense legal battles, the Tribunal sitting in Abuja on Monday affirmed Ododo as the duly elected governor thereby dismissing the Ajaka, Braimoh and Yunusa’s petitions for lack of merit.