By Adekola Afolabi
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Some chieftains of the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC in the Ondo State including Prince Olu Adegboro and the immediate past Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Alhaji Rasheed Badmus, have joined other numerous party leaders to express delight in the Supreme Court verdict delivered last Wednesday.
The Apex Court in its split judgement of four to three, affirmed the election of the Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, and his deputy, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, at the October 10, 2020 governorship election.
In separate reactions to the judgement yesterday in Akure, disclosed that the very important lesson from the judgement is that the judiciary should not use technicality to give away the mandate of the people.
They unanimously agreed that the verdict of the Apex Court has given people more confidence in the judiciary, adding that the entire judgement justified the victory of Governor Akeredolu at the October 10, 2020 governorship poll.
The two APC chieftains, who particularly appreciated God for what they called “sweet victory”, also believed that Akeredolu’s sincerity, his fear of God, commitment to the service of the people made God help him to win the case and be victorious at the Supreme Court.
Prince Adegboro, who is also a former Commissioner for Information in the state, charged the judiciary that if they find anything serious in respect of any election matter, they should throw the whole thing back to the electorate to decide.
“The Governor won 15 local governments out of 18. The PDP is criticising the primary, and their criticism about the primary is that it was not fair and just. What is the business of PDP with the primary of another party.
“Earlier if you could recollect, two members of our party went to court- Mrs Jumoke Anifowose and one Adojutelegan, to challenge the primary, and even Mrs Jumoke Anifowose went as far as Supreme Court but the court justified the primary.
“We were just lucky that it didn’t occur to Jegede and the PDP people to hammer on the caretaker chairman of the APC who doubles as Governor. If they had done that would have almost made us to lose.
“God is also in love with Ondo State because if you could watch the activities of the Governor during this second term you would know that he is determined to leave a legacy that would make people to remember him years after leaving government”, the septuagenarian added.
On his part, Alhaji Rasheed Badmus who thanked God and rejoiced with the Governor, his deputy and the APC for the well deserved victory, appreciated all the party leaders and the people of the state for standing firm with the Governor throughout the litigation period.
He expressed joy that the ongoing developmental projects across the state under Governor Akeredolu are not truncated halfway.
“The main thing now is to appreciate God for Mr Governor, APC and for Ondo State because the good works will continue”, he stressed.
The duo also applauded the Governor for working hard and serving the people well, adding that within the past four years and the first 100 days of second term, so many developmental projects in terms of roads construction, industrialisation, water supply scheme, agric development, youth empowerment and overall development of the state have been given attention.
While noting that Akeredolu is determined to ensure his regime is remembered for good, the APC chieftains also appreciated the PDP candidate, Mr. Eyitayo Jegede for congratulating Akeredolu on his victory, adding that he should also be ready to join hands and work with the Governor to collectively build, refine and develop the state.
