Lagos State governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Wednesday described President Muhammadu Buhari’s victory at the Supreme Court, following verdict delivered by the Apex Court in his favour as “yet another landmark” in the country’s annals which had affirmed the belief of the citizens in the judiciary as an impartial arbiter.
A 7- man panel of the Supreme Court headed by the Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Tanko Muhammed, had on Wednesday, dismissed the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, challenging the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari in the February 23, 2019 presidential election.
The governor said this in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Gboyega Akosile, while congratulating the president on his victory in the last election, saying he received the news with “great joy.”
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Governor Sanwo-Olu said the Supreme Court’s judgment had not only consolidated the nation’s democracy, but also further strengthened the citizens’ belief in the judicial process.
According to him, the apex court has with the ruling affirmed the will of the majority of Nigerians, stressing that the judgment averted the danger of returning the country to the period of plague, which he said defined the PDP’s “16 years of misrule.”
“Today’s judgment shattered all hurdles set against the president and has fully set him and his team on the journey to take the country to the Next Level in infrastructural renewal and economic development,” Sanwo-Olu said.
Text of the statement read: “With great joy in my heart, I have received the news of the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari and my great party, All Progressives Congress, at the Supreme Court today. This is yet another landmark judgment that will enrich our democratic and political processes.
“The judgment is a great relief for all Nigerians after a period of fierce contest and bickering that marred the last general elections. The Supreme Court has not only upheld the choice of the greater number of Nigerians who chose APC and the president at the polls, it has also affirmed our belief in the judiciary as impartial arbiter whose pronouncements have strengthened our democracy in great leap.
“I felicitate with President Buhari, APC national leaders and all Nigerians on this sweet victory. The judgment is instructive because it has cleared all hurdles set against our collective march to the Next Level of good governance heralded by renewed energy to restore the country’s glory in infrastructure, economy and social well-being.
“The nation cannot afford to go back to the period of plague that characterised the PDP’s 16 years of misrule that pushed the whole country to the edge. Therefore, I see the judgment as a victory for good governance instituted by the APC-led Federal Government and for all patriotic Nigerians who share our philosophy for the rebirth of a new nation where everything will work.”
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