S’Court affirms Sanwo-Olu’s election, Lagos gov promises accelerated devt

The Supreme Court has affirm the election of Babajide Sanwo-Olu as the Governor of Lagos State.

Justice Garba Lawal who read the lead judgment dismissed the appeal filed by Mr Rhodes-Vivour.

He held that the deputy governor was duly qualified to contest the election.

Recall that Sanwo-Olu’s victory was upheld by the tribunal and Appeal Court in the state.

The Labour Party candidate in the election, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, has hinged his case on Sanwo-Olu running mate’s qualification.

He claimed that the deputy governor, Obafemi Hamzat, had renounced his citizenship as a Nigerian.

The court held that Sanwo-Olu’s deputy is a Nigerian by birth

The court added renunciation of citizenship of a citizens by birth must be registered by the Nigerian President, saying the appellant did not provide an evidence to that effect.

Abdulazeez Adediran, popularly known as Jandor, of the PDP on his part, contended that the name Sanwo-Olu submitted to INEC was different from that contained in his WAEC certificate.

The apex court dismissed the appeal, describing it as “academic”.

Meanwhile, in his reaction to his final victory at the Supreme Court, Sanwo-Olu promises accelerated development in the state.

A statement from the governor reads, “With a deep sense of gratitude to The Almighty, I welcome the verdict of the Supreme Court, which today revalidated the position of Lagosians who freely cast their ballots on March 18, 2023.

“The victory is not just for my deputy, Dr Kadri Obafemi Hamzat; it is for the rule of law, our democracy and the entire people of Lagos State.

“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.  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 the 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.

“I thank my political party, the All Progressives Congress that gave us the opportunity to fly its flag at the March 18, 2023 governorship election. I commend all the party leaders and members for working tirelessly to ensure APC’s victory at the polls.

“I want to specially commend the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, for deepening the country’s democracy.

“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.

“The ruling of the Supreme Court has ended the judicial process on the governorship election.

“Thank you and may God bless Lagos State and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”