The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has congratulated President Bola Tinubu on his Victory at the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC).
Tinubu was on March 1, 2023, declared winner of the February 25 presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
But not satisfied with the outcome of the election, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic party (PDP) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) filed separate petitions at PEPC, challenging the declaration of Tinubu as the duly elected president of Nigeria.
However, in a consolidated judgment on Wednesday, Justice Haruna Tsammani who led a five-man panel of the tribunal, dismissed the petitions for lack of merit.
The tribunal said Obi, Atiku and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), failed to prove allegations in their respective petitions seeking to overturn the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate’s victory.
Reacting to the court verdict, Sanwo-Olu said now that the election and the results have been upheld by the court, he hopes that Atiku and Obi would do the needful.
According to him, Tinubu and members of the APC across the country worked very hard for their victory at the February poll, noting that today’s PEPC’s decision is an affirmation of the will of over eight million Nigerians who voted for Tinubu as their choice.
In a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Gboyega Akosile, which was made available to THE WHISTLER, Sanwo-Olu said Nigerians had spoken through the ballots and the court has also validated the citizens’ decision by today’s judicial pronouncements.
He said: “What we are witnessing today is the beauty of democracy and the rule of law. We had an election in February this year where over eight million Nigerians voted to elect Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“We ordinarily thought that the losers should have displayed the good spirit of sportsmanship by congratulating the winner (President Tinubu) but they chose to contest the election results, which is within their rights. Now that election and the results have been upheld by the Court. I hope they will do the needful.
“I congratulate the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu on his well-deserved victory at the Presidential Election Tribunal Court.
“I also congratulate the leadership and members of our great party, the All Progressives Congress, and all Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora on this very landmark judicial victory.”
Sanwo-Olu enjoined Nigerians across party divide to team up with the president to deliver the real dividends of democracy to Nigerians through the ‘Renewed Hope’ agenda of the incumbent administration, adding that Wednesday’s judicial verdict is a victory for democracy and the rule of law.