THE All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun state has congratulated the State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, on the judgment delivered by the Ogun State Election Petition Tribunal affirming his election victory.
The Tribunal, on Saturday, upheld the victory of Abiodun at the March 18 Governorship election in the state.
The Tribunal panel comprising of Justice J B Egele and Justice Sannusi Shehu and chaired by Justice H. N. Kunaza, dismissed the petition of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Ladi Adebutu, for lacking merit.
The panel dismissed the petition on the grounds of incompetence , vagueness and lack of understanding of the usage of the wordings contained in the Electoral Act.
The panel stated further that the oetitioners failed to prove any of the 3 grounds of its petition.
In a statement by APC’s publicity secretary, Tunde Oladunnoye, the Ogun sate Chairman of the party, Chief Yemi Sanusi, was quoted as describing as “divine mandate” Abiodun’s victory, as well as the Tribunal judgment.
“We went round the 20 local government areas of the state, we went to some local governments twice, we campaigned vigorously in the wards, we showcased what our party and government have done in four years.l and was doing. In most of our campaigns, we commissioned projects and inaugurated new ones which was unprecedented in the electioneering annals of Nigeria. Our people believed in us, trusted us and voted for continuity. We had no doubt about our electoral victory and It was indeed a divine mandate.
“We have always known that the PDP is as disorganized as its ramshackle petitions. which the party and its highly incompetent and run away defeated candidate knew or ought to have known cannot succeed. They merely wanted to reap where they did not sow, forgetting that you can’t build something on nothing. The tribunal has rightly done justice and due diligence to their spurious petitions. We only hope that Ladi Adebutu will eat the humble pie and return to Nigeria and face his criminal charges of votes buying and money laundering hanging on his neck at the High Court. We challenge him to be man enough to return to Nigeria,” the APC chairman stated.
The state Chairman also hailed the legal team for a job well done.
“Our party and Governor assembled the best brains in election tribunal warfare in Nigeria today. There is no election dispute of note that is relied on in this case that at least one of our lawyers is not a part of,” he added.
“Finally, to God be the biggest credit and glory. We appreciate the unusual grace of God upon Prince Dapo Abiodun, to the chagrin of his detractors. Not many have this grace that when you think they are locked in, God opens the roof for them to walk free. Till today, many cannot understand why God chose Dapo Abiodun against all odds, but He did, and there is nothing his detractors could do about it,” Sanusi ended.
