By Mohammed Adekola
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has urged his opponents during the 2023 governorship election to join him to develop Lagos State.
Sanwo-Olu urged the duo to join the progressive governance train, noting that he and his deputy, Dr Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, do not profess a monopoly of ideas.
This is coming hours after the Supreme Court affirmed the election of Sanwo-Olu which was earlier upheld by the tribunal and Appeal Court in the state.
The Labour Party candidate in the election, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, had in his appeal claimed that Sanwo-Olu’s running mate qualification, Obafemi Hamzat, had renounced his citizenship as a Nigerian.
The court held that Sanwo-Olu’s deputy is a Nigerian by birth, adding that renunciation of citizenship of a citizen by birth must be registered by the Nigerian president, adding that the appellant did not provide any evidence to that effect.
The court, however, dismissed the appeal by the Labour Party candidate for lacking in merit.
Also, Abdulazeez Adediran, popularly known as Jandor, who is the Peoples Democratic Party, on his part, contended that the name Sanwo-Olu submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission was different from that contained in his WAEC certificate.
The apex court while dismissing appeal described it as “academic”.
Reacting to the judgement, Sanwo-Olu, in a statement he personally signed, said the apex court verdict revalidated the position of Lagosians who freely cast their ballots on March 18, 2023.
According to him, the victory is not just for him and his deputy, Dr Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, it is for the rule of law, our democracy and the entire people of Lagos State.
He said, “Like I said in my acceptance speech after the results of the election were declared, there was no victor or vanquished. Our approach to governance since May 29, 2019, is a clear example of inclusive governance, which we believe in and stand for.
“I therefore invite those who are still standing on the fence to show their love for our dear state by joining the train of progressive governance. We do not profess a monopoly of ideas.
“Today’s judicial pronouncement, like those of the Lagos State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal in Lagos, have buoyed our confidence in the country’s judicial system. We do not take it for granted.
I commend the judges for their well-thought-out and detailed judgment. They explained the reasons that led them to their conclusions today. We thank the Supreme Court judges, as well as the Lagos State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal judges for their firm commitment to the principle of fairness and justice.”
He, however, said the victory would spur him and his deputy to do more in office.
He said, “Mr. Deputy and I feel very privileged to have been elected to serve at this auspicious moment in the history of our State. We thank all Lagosians for standing by us all through this journey.
“Let me reiterate that this judicial victory will spur our government to continue on the trajectory of progress that we started in 2019, which has resulted in many achievements across many areas of lives.
For us, our aim in governance is about service and ensuring that we are not distracted from all the promises we made to our people. The judgement will now allow us to accelerate our interventions to ensure that we continue to deliver more dividends of democracy to our citizens- in line with our THEMES+ developmental agenda.”
