Gov. Usman Ododo of Kogi has welcomed the judgment of the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja that upheld the decision of the governorship election petition tribunal affirming his return as the duly elected governor of the state.

Ododo, in reaction to the appellate court judgment, thanked the people of Kogi for their support.

The governor, therefore, called on opposition politicians in the state to join him in advancing the development of the state.

He stressed that the judgement of the Appeal Court should now lay to rest the argument over the result of the 2023 governorship election and unite the people for the development of the state, irrespective of political differences.

The governor, in a statement made available to newsmen on Friday in Abuja by his Special Adviser on Media, Ismaila Isah, expressed appreciation to the judiciary for the swift and expeditious manner with which it dealt with the appeal.

He added that the court had again demonstrated that the mandate freely given to him by the people of the state “cannot be upturned by persons who may not agree with the will of God and the majority of the people of Kogi.”

“ I give thanks to God for seeing us through this phase of the court processes and I thank the people of Kogi State for uniting behind our administration and the steps we are taking to serve our people with the best of our ability.

“The judgment of the Appeal Court reaffirms the fact that the November 2023 Governorship election in Kogi State was free, fair, peaceful, and credible.

“By the grace of God, our administration has become the symbol of peace and unity in our state and we are committed to serving our people on the basis of equity and inclusion.

“I thank the judiciary for staying true to its independence with this judgment of the Appeal Court that has reaffirmed the earlier decision of the tribunal which is a clear testament that the mandate freely given to us by the people of Kogi State was done in the best interest of our state.”

The governor also expressed appreciation to President Bola Tinubu for ensuring that the judiciary remains truly independent and transparent as the last hope of the common man in the country.

Report says that the Appeal Court had, on Thursday, upheld the May 27 decision of the Kogi State governorship election petition tribunal.

The three-member tribunal had upheld the election of Ododo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the duly elected Governor of Kogi, having scored 446,237 votes which represented the majority of lawful votes cast in the Nov. 11, 2023 governorship election in the state.

Also, the Appeal Court, in a unanimous decision, dismissed all grounds of appeals filed by candidates of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), the Action Alliance (AA) and the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) for being incompetent and for lacking in merit.(NAN)