- Victory Well Deserved — PDP
The Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos Division has dismissed the petitions of Senator Ovie Omo-Agege and two others challenging the March 18, 2023, governorship victory of Rt Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori as Governor of Delta State.
The Delta State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Asaba, led by Justice C.H. Ahuchaogu, had on Friday, September 29, 2023, upheld Oborevwori’s election by dismissing the petitions filed against him by the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, candidate of the Social Democratic Party, Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi, and the Labour Party Governorship candidate, Kennedy Pela.
The tribunal amongst others held that the petitioners failed to prove the noncompliance with the electoral act alleged by them in 1333 polling units and failed to prove or demonstrate that the inflation of votes in Ibusa Ward 8 or other polling units substantially affected the final result of the election considering the margin of winning votes.
Not satisfied, Omo-Agege, Gbagi and Pele approached the Court of Appeal on the matter.
The three-member panel of the Appellate Court presided over by Justice Hamma Barka had on Monday, November 13, 2023, reserved judgment in three separate appeals filed challenging the election of Governor Oborevwori.
Ruling on the matter on Friday, the Appeal Court affirmed the verdict of the tribunal which upheld Oborevwori as the lawful winner of the March 18 governorship election in Delta.
The court dismissed the appeal of Ovie Omo-Agege and others against Oborevwori for lacking in merit.
Oborevwori won 21 out of the 25 Local Government Areas in the state with 360,234 votes while his main challenger, Omo-Agege of the APC won 4 by polling 240,229 votes.
In a quick reaction, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party in the state congratulated the Governor, saying his victory at the Appeal Court was well-deserved.
The Delta State PDP Publicity Secretary, Dr. Ifeanyi Osuoza, also assured that the victory was another step towards ensuring the steady and continuous implementation of the MORE Agenda for Deltans.
The statement reads: “Your Excellency, our leader, it is with unreserved joy, pride and satisfaction, that the entire PDP family in Delta State, offer our hearty congratulations to you, on your well-deserved victory at the Court of Appeal.
“We applaud the judiciary once again for their learned, articulate and well-delivered judgement, which is a further affirmation of what we had already stated categorically and without equivocation, that the PDP overwhelmingly won the 2023 Delta State Governorship election and Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori is undoubtedly, the duly elected Governor of Delta State.
“While we recognize the fact that our petitioners have the freedom of choice to pursue their legal convictions to whatever conclusion they may have envisioned, we still wish, with the best intentions, to offer our olive branch and hand of fellowship by urging them to reconsider any further challenge, after this Appeal Court verdict, to avoid frittering extra resources in these very hard times.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, who has indeed, started so well and exhibited impressive governance and excellent leadership skills since assuming office, is greatly buoyed now to continue the fine work of delivering the dividends of Democracy to our people and as a responsible and people oriented party, it is our utmost desire to carry all Deltans along in the collective effort to ensure the best for our State.”
