Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the executive governor of Lagos State, has encouraged his opponents in the 2023 gubernatorial race to work alongside him to improve the state.
Sanwo-Olu asked the couple to join the progressive government train, pointing out that he and his deputy, Dr Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, do not claim a monopoly on ideas.
This comes only hours after the Supreme Court supported Sanwo-Olu’s election, which had already been upheld by the state’s tribunal and Appeal Court.
Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, the Labour Party candidate in the election, stated in his appeal that Obafemi Hamzat, Sanwo-Olu’s running partner, had abandoned his Nigerian citizenship.
The court determined that Sanwo-Olu’s deputy is a Nigerian by birth, and that renunciation of citizenship by a citizen by birth must be recorded by the Nigerian president, noting that the appellant provided no proof to that effect.
The court, however, denied the Labour Party candidate’s appeal for lack of merit.
Also, Abdulazeez Adediran, also known as Jandor, of the Peoples Democratic Party, claimed that the name Sanwo-Olu presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission differed from that on his WAEC certificate.
The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal as “academic”.
In a statement issued by him, Sanwo-Olu stated that the Supreme Court’s decision reaffirmed the viewpoint of Lagosians who freely cast their ballots on March 18, 2023.
He said, “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 for.
“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 their 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.”
He, however, said the victory would spur him and his deputy to do more in office.
He said, “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.”
