My Mandate Can’t be Taken Through the Backdoor –Gov. Makinde
POLITICS DIGEST – Oyo State Governor Engr. Seyi Makinde has declared that the mandate given to him by the Oyo State people given to him through election remained intact following the ruling of the Court of Appeal in Ibadan on Monday.
Governor Makinde, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Taiwo Adisa, declared that the mandate given to him by the people of Oyo State cannot be taken through the backdoor.
The statement read: “There is no ambiguity as to the state of things in our Pacesetter State as far as the election of March 9, 2019, is concerned. Our party, the PDP, won the election.
The victory was reaffirmed by a ruling of the election petitions tribunal, sitting in Ibadan, the state capital.
“On Monday, the Court of Appeal, also sitting in Ibadan, delivered its judgement on the appeal by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adebayo Adelabu.
“In its ruling, the appeal court refused to grant any of the three key reliefs sought by the APC candidate. “The court refused to nullify the election; it refused to order a fresh election and it also refused to order the retrial of the petition.
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“With the above being the reality of the outcome of the appeal court ruling, the election of Engineer Seyi Makinde as the governor of Oyo State has just been reaffirmed,” he said.
Governor Makinde urged the good people of the state to remain calm and refuse to be provoked by agents of disruption who, he said, were seeking to upturn the truth, which remained constant against all odds.
“We also wish to enjoin the people of Oyo State to ignore the doctored reports in some media outlets, which are merely quoting the judgement of the Court of Appeal out of context.
“With a clear margin of Makinde’s 515,621 votes to Adelabu’s 357,982 votes, the preference of the people of Oyo State is as clear as day and night.”
Meanwhile, the APC in Oyo State has reaffirmed its strong belief in the judiciary as the pillar of hope for the sustenance of democracy, saying Adelabu and the party would approach the Supreme Court for final settlement of the litigation.
While reacting to the judgment through a statement issued by its Assistant Publicity Secretary, Prince Ayobami Adejumo, Oyo APC lauded the appellate court’s judges for their pronouncement which validated the claims of the plaintiffs in the matter before it.
He however “regretted that the good people of the state would still have to wait for the final adjudication on the case before our candidate could reclaim his mandate.”
