Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has called on the 2023 candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olajide Adediran, popularly known as Jandor and the candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, to join him to make Lagos greater.
The governor, who made the call on Wednesday, was reacting to the ruling of the Appeal Court sitting in Lagos, which affirmed his election.
A three-man panel comprising of Justice Yargata Nimpa, Justice Samuel Bola, and Justice Paul Bassey, on Wednesday, unanimously dismissed the appeal of the PDP and Adediran, for lack of merit.
The court also dismissed the appeal filed by LP and its candidate, Rhodes-Vivour, thereby affirming the re-election of Sanwo-Olu and his deputy Obafemi Hamzat.
“We urge our opponents to embrace the olive branch and join our sure march to the Greater Lagos that keeps rising by the day,” Sanwo-Olu said in a statement made available to THE WHISTLER.
He said that his victory at the Appeal Court has further strengthened his commitment to impact the lives of Lagosians positively.
“With sense of humility, I welcome the decision of the Court of Appeal, which ruled today in our favour, thereby validating the position of Lagosians who freely cast their ballots to return my deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat and I as Governor and Deputy Governor of our dear State. We do not take it for granted.
“Today’s judicial pronouncements, like those of the Lagos State Elections Petition Tribunal, have buoyed my confidence in our country’s judicial system. The Court examined all the issues and did justice to them, without leaving anyone in doubt as to who is the rightful winner of the election.
“Our party, the All Progressives Congress(APC) will continue to maintain its firm belief in the judicial process.
“My deputy and I have satisfied all the constitutional requirements and are now more focused on delivering the democratic dividends to our people.
“With deep gratitude to the Almighty God, I humbly accept today’s Appeal Court verdict, with a sense of responsibility and a desire to continue with the giant strides of our administration so as to leave a great legacy for our people.
“The judicial victory has further strengthened my resolve to impact the lives of Lagos residents positively, regardless of their political persuasion, in line with our THEMES+ development agenda,” the governor added.
Sanwo-Olu was declared the winner of the March 18 governorship election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) after polling 762,134 votes to defeat his closest rivals, Rhodes-Vivour who gathered 312,329 votes, and Adediran who came a distant third with 62,449 votes.