Kogi Poly Rector congratulates Gov. Ododo on Supreme Court victory

The Rector of Kogi State Polytechnic Prof Salisu Ogbo has congratulated Alhaji Ahmed Usman on his victory at the supreme Court affirming him as the duly elected Governor in the State.

Prof. Ogbo disclosed this in a statement made available to Journalists in Lokoja on Friday.

Our Kogi State Correspondent, reports that the Professor of Political Science noted that the supreme Court judgement represents the will of the People in the November 11th 2023 Governorship election in Kogi State. 

The statement reads in part "On behalf of the Management, Academic Board, staff, and students of Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja, I heartily and warmly congratulate His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo, on the reaffirmation of his mandate by the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

"Our heart warming felicitations also go to His Excellency, the Deputy Governor of Kogi State, Comrade Joel Salifu Oyibo, and all elected and appointed party stalwarts and supporters of the Continuity and Consolidation Administration on the well-deserved victory.

"Your Excellency, the Supreme Court's pronouncement is not only an affirmation of the popular choice of the people of Kogi State as freely expressed on 11th November, 2023, it is also a final seal on the affirmation of your mandate as unanimously declared by the electoral petition tribunal and the appeal court.

"With the needless distractions over, we are much confident that your impressive performance within the short period as attested to in all the nooks and crannies of the State, will even translate into a more historic and unprecedented transformation of our dear State.

"We pray that God in His infinite mercy will continue to guide and protect you as you work tirelessly to provide good governance for the State.

"Once again, your Excellency, please accept our heartfelt felicitations and my personal best wishes on this well-deserved victory"

It could be recalled that the Supreme Court on Friday affirmed the election of Usman Ododo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as winner of the Kogi State governorship election which held on November 11, 2023.

The affirmation followed the dismissal of the appeal of Murtala Ajaka, the candidate of the Social Democratic Party who challenged the outcome of the election.

In a unanimous judgment, the Apex Court upheld the decision of the Court of Appeal which on the twenty-seventh of May affirmed the election of Mister Ododo.

The five-man panel held that the allegation of substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act was not proven by the SDP governorship candidate.

It further stated that allegations of age falsification and certificate forgery are pre-election matters which ought to have been ventilated at the Federal High Court which has jurisdiction to hear such matters.

The Supreme Court therefore dismissed Ajaka’s appeal for lacking merit.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had announced that Ododo polled a total of 446,237 votes to defeat Mister Ajaka who came second with 259,052 votes.

Meanwhile, The people of Lokoja, the state capital of Kogi state on Friday troops out in there thousand to celebrate the victory of Kogi state Governor, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo at the Supreme Court.

Some of those celebrating the victory of Governor Ododo are of the view that Kogi State can now look forward to a period of stability and progress under the present dispensation. 

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