•Civil servants welcome gov to Oke Mosan

By James Ogunnaike

ABEOKUTA—GOVERNOR Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State and the Inter-Party Advisory Council, IPAC, yesterday, commended the judgment of the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, saying the verdict was diligent and meticulous.

The IPAC, while reacting to last Saturday’s judgement that affirmed the election of Governor Abiodun, said the tribunal’s verdict on the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Mr. Ladi Adebutu, revealed that the petition contained so many procedural flaws with antecedent interpretation of words.

IPAC, in a statement by its state chairman, Mr Samson Okusanya, reads: “Ladi Adebutu and his team of lawyers ought to have known that law and facts are not based on technicalities but rather on fairness and objectivity of the legal process which stipulates that the petitioner ought to have front-loaded certain information in the petition.

“We salute the judiciary and most importantly members of the Tribunal led by Justice Hamidu Kunaza for a job well done.

“The PDP and her candidate should as a matter of importance, discontinue his planned wild goose chase at the appellate Court and accept the will of God.”

Civil servants welcome gov to Oke Mosan

In a related development, the civil servants in Ogun State, yesterday, organised a special programme to welcome Governor Abiodun, after his victory at the Tribunal.

Speaking on behalf of the civil servants, the Head of Service, Mr Kola Fagbohun, congratulated Governor Abiodun and assured him of the support and commitment of civil servants in the state.

Addressing the civil servants, Governor Abiodun expressed gratitude to the judiciary for the transparent judgement that affirmed his victory, assuring that his administration would build upon the successes recorded in the last four years.

He said: “Yes, we worked hard in the first four years of our tenure against all attempted distractions. We worked very hard on our re-election. We campaigned across the nooks and crannies of the state and we won that election fair and square.

“But, some mischievous individuals decided that the defeat was not enough for them, they had to go to court, having failed to purchase that election. I want to thank the Almighty God for yet again reaffirming our victory through the 3-man Ogun State Election Tribunal that delivered its eleven-and-a-half-hour judgement on Saturday, September 30.

“It was a diligent, meticulous and transparent judgement, leaving no one in doubt, except for those that want to continue to be mischievous.”