Adebayo, Adelugba, APC Laud Supreme Court Verdict Upholding Oyebanji’s Victory

•SDP expresses shock, describes Oni as hero of democracy

 Gbenga Sodeinde in Ado Ekiti

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo, Speaker of Ekiti State House of Assembly, Hon. Okubunmi Adelugba, and the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have lauded the Supreme Court judgment that affirmed the victory of the Governor Biodun Oyebanji as the winner of the June18, 2022 governorship election in Ekiti State.

Last Thursday, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the decisions of both the tribunal and the Court of Appeal, which had earlier ruled that Segun Oni and his party, the Social Democratic Party (SDP), failed to prove their case against the victory of APC and its candidate at the June 18, 2022 guber election in Ekiti State.

Justice Musa Dattijo Muhammad, who delivered the judgment on behalf of other Supreme Court justices, said the Segun Oni and SDP case expressly stood dismissed.

Adebayo, in a statement signed by his media adviser, Ifedayo Sayo, said the judgment has laid to rest all misguided rumours and innuendos by the opposition party, particularly the SDP and its candidate,  Oni, disputing the outcome of the election.

He said with the petition dismissed by the court, it paved the way for the governor to concentrate on implementing his electioneering promises made to the good people of the state.

He lauded the efforts of Oyebanji at reuniting the people behind his administration through laudable programmes and ongoing urban renewal programme, assuring that the governor would continue to meet the expectations of the people of the state.

He called on the people of Ekiti State to rally round the Governor to ensure that he delivers more dividends of democracy and move the state on the path of sustainable progress.

Also the Speaker, Adelugba, said the affirmation of Oyebanji’s election by the Supreme Court was a proof that his victory in the 2022 governorship election was God-ordained

The Speaker said the victory recorded at the Supreme Court, which is the final court in the land, would give Oyebanji the opportunity to fully concentrate on the business of governance and continue to put smiles on the faces of the people with life-changing policies and pro-masses projects.

In a congratulatory statement by her Special Adviser on Media, Odunayo Ogunmola, the Speaker noted that there was no doubt that Oyebanji, who ran on the platform of the APC won the June 18, 2022 governorship poll in Ekiti as confirmed by the popular votes he received across the state.

While noting that any of the opposition parties had the constitutional rights to go to court to challenge the results of the election if they are aggrieved with same, Rt. Hon. Adelugba said the election of Oyebanji met the requirements of the law and the wishes of the electorate hence it was difficult to overturn.

Adelugba pointed out that it was remarkable that the State Election Petition Tribunal, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court found no blemish in the return of the Governor by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the rightful winner of the governorship seat.

“We thank God that the Supreme Court has put a judicial seal of affirmation on the popular mandate given to Governor Biodun Oyebanji, this is a confirmation that his victory was God-ordained.

“The end has come to this litigation as the Supreme Court is the final court in the land, this is the time for all of us in Ekiti State to support our governor in the task of taking our state to a higher pedestal of development,” she said.

Appraising the judgment, APC said the back-to-back legal victory recorded from the election tribunal to the Supreme Court was not accidental, but a confirmation of the people’s acceptance of both the party and the governor, which culminated in the landslide victory recorded at the poll, and which cannot be taken for granted at any point of the present administration.

The party’s message was conveyed through a statement by its State Publicity Secretary, Segun Dipe, on behalf of the state Chairman, Mr. Paul Omotosho.

It stated that with the Supreme Court ruling, which was the final adjudication on the matter, all parties must have come to accept the verdict as that of the people of the State, and as the authentic.

Dipe described Oni and SDP’s decision to question the outcome of the election as standing logic in the head.

But, the SDP in the state has expressed shock and disappointment over the judgment by the five-man panel of the Supreme Court, describing it as a rape on democracy, which will go a long way in the anal of history of Nigeria as one of the worst judgments pronounced with emotions and recklessness as the grounds of appeal and prayers before his lordships were convincing enough for the SDP and the candidate to get favourable judgment.

The state Chairman of the party, Dr. Dele Ekunola, expressed his displeasure when he led the state working committee members to Ifaki Ekiti, the country home of Oni on a solidarity visit.

Ekunola described the pronouncement and dismissal of the case outrightly as the least expected of highly respected justices of the Supreme Court without keenly and carefully looking at the grounds and prayers of the SDP which were critical to its determination and summarily dismissed the case and promised to communicate the reasons for its dismissal later to the parties too distasteful and unbearable.