13th January, 2024
By Adeyemi Adeleye
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State has urged opposition parties to end partisan politics and support Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, following the Supreme Court affirmation of his election on Friday.
The Lagos State APC Chairman, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, gave this advice on Friday evening in his congratulatory statement on Sanwo-Olu and his deputy, Dr Obafemi Hamzat’s victory at the apex court.
Ojelabi said: “Those in opposition are advised to team up with the APC government in Lagos State so that collectively, they will serve the people better.
“The era of partisan politics has ended and all hands should be on deck now towards contributing our quotas aimed at making Lagos the Centre of Excellence through good, meaningful and excellent programmes for the people.”
Congratulating the APC family and the people of Lagos at large, Ojelabi said that the victory was long-awaited and well-deserved.
The chairman thanked the party members and loyalists for their constant support for the APC and the government of Sanwo-Olu over the years.
Ojelabi added that the victory had further reinforced that the votes cast by the electorate on March 18, for the joint tickets of Sanwo-Olu and Hamzat “were and are not a waste but for the progress and development of the state”.
He assured Lagos residents that the Sanwo-Olu-led administration would continue to deliver on its electioneering promises to usher in more dividends of democracy.
He described the unanimous judgment by justices of the Supreme Court as a further testimony of the court’s belief in employing credible judicial pronouncements and judgments to strengthen and entrench democracy.
He added: “The APC in Lagos celebrates the victory of Governor Sanwo-Olu as the duly democratically elected governor of Lagos State.
“I congratulate our Governor, Mr Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu and his Deputy, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, for this final victory at the Supreme Court today.
“We in the APC in Lagos State accept the final judgment and appreciate the due diligence and the process of rule of law,” Ojelabi said.
Labour Party’s Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour and PDP’s Abdul-Azeez Adediran (Jandor) had approached the apex court to challenge Sanwo-Olu’s victory in the election.
The LP candidate urged the Supreme Court to hold that the March 18 election was marred by irregularities and non-compliance with the Electoral Act.
He also added that the Lagos state deputy governor was not qualified to contest the election.
Similarly, Adediran filed 34 grounds of appeal, asking the apex court to upturn the verdict of the Lagos State governorship election tribunal and the court of appeal.
Meanwhile, the apex court in a unanimous decision on Friday, upheld Sanwo-Olu as duly elected governor of Lagos State.
The court dismissed the appeals of LP’s Rhodes-Vivour and PDP’s Adediran for lacking in merit and a gross abuse of court process.
The Supreme Court dismissed the two separate appeals that challenged Sanwo-Olu’s return as the winner of the governorship election held in the state on March 18. (NAN)