Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, has hailed the judgement of the Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Abuja, which, in a unanimous decision on Monday, upheld his victory at the poll.
He said the decision of the Bench Lords has further justified his election as the Governor of Kogi State, saying the victory belongs to the people of Kogi State, our party APC and lovers of democracy across the nation.
The Governor said the victory does not call for wild jubilation by his supporters, but offers a golden opportunity for his opponents to join the New Direction Initiative of his administration, which is built on the podiums of development, fairness, justice, freedom and shared prosperity from the confluence of opportunities which abound in the state.
Bello said he holds no grudge against any party, who had approached the temple of justice to seek redress, saying as a democrat, he will always respect the rights of the citizens. He said his administration is currently putting in place, tested and sustainable structures to revolutionize education, healthcare, agro-business, industrialization and conscious efforts at creating jobs for the teeming unemployed in the state.
The governor said his administration has already begun the modernization of the state capital from the shambles of the past to a destination for tourism and infrastructural development, assuring the people of the state that they will be proud of his achievements. He denied been distracted by the litigation surrounding his emergence as governor, saying he has delivered solid democracy dividends to the people in his first four months in office.
He said his administration will continue to ensure development, ethnic integration and and security of lives and property, warning against criminality and corruption.
In his words: “To those who wants to make Kogi a criminal hotspot, we will defeat you. My government will spare nothing at ensuring lives and properties are safe within our shores. We have taken practical steps in this direction and our Local Government Administrators are also on the same page with us. This administration will not condone corruption. The New Direction is that of transparency and accountability. We won’t spare any government official found wanting in our anti-corruption drive just as we would legally ensure that every dime stolen from our coffers in time past is recovered and used for infrastructural and social development. We are on the right path”, he said.
He thanked the people of the state for their prayers and solidarity, assuring them of his readiness to repay their trust and confidence in him.
The governor also urged the Muslims to use the Holy Month of Ramadan to pray for the development of the state and peaceful coexistence among the people.
The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal for Kogi State had dismissed Mr James Faleke’s petition in the November 21, 2015 governorship poll in the Confluence State.
Faleke, the running-mate of the late Abubakar Audu, the APC governorship candidate in the poll, challenged the inconclusive result verdict returned by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
He also challenged the return of Bello, in the supplementary governorship poll.
The Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Halima Muhammad, in her judgement, dismissed the petition for lacking in merit.
Muhammad said that the tribunal had carefully articulated all the issues by both parties and held that Faleke had no locus standi to challenge Bello’s nomination.
She said that the petitioner had no locus standi to challenge the election of Bello when INEC had declared the Nov. 21 election inconclusive.
“A candidate cannot stand election without being sponsored by a party; the electoral tribunal has no power to determine the empowerment of a political party.
“The second respondent (Bello) is a member of a political party, the APC, and the party nominated him.
“The issues of the petitioner border on the nomination of the second respondent which arose from the death of Prince Audu; Bello did not nominate himself.
“Both the petitioner and the second respondent belong to the same party and were sponsored by their party. The APC has the right to substitute candidate as it deems fit.
“The petitioner has not placed sufficient materials before the tribunal to grant his petition; the petition is hereby dismissed for lack of merit,’’ Muhammad held.
The tribunal chairman said that there was not sufficient evidence before the tribunal that the petitioner wrote a letter to his political party withdrawing his candidature as the deputy governorship candidate.
According to her, the only letter written by the petitioner does not constitute a valid withdrawal and that it is not written to the party but to INEC.
Muhammad also held that Bello was the sole runner-up in the APC primary to the late Audu and that there was no evidence by the petitioner to show that he was disqualified and was not nominated by the party.
Reacting to the judgment, Faleke told newsmen that he would appeal the judgement of the tribunal.
“The panel of judges did not look at the main subject of our case, so we are going to appeal this judgement.
“We are not concerned with the supplementary election held on December 5; all we know is that we were duly elected in accordance with the constitution,’’ Faleke said.
