FORMER Minister of Education, Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi, has that said God designed and accomplished Governor Ifeanyi Okowa victory over All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship candidate, Chief Great Ogboru, at the Court of Appeal, Abuja, on Friday
Gbagi, stated this while reacting to the dismissal of Ogboru’s appeal against his defeat by the governor in an interview with reporters.
He said, “The case was dismissed for being unmeritorious, the victory is not for Governor Okowa only, it is for all Deltans, who have kept faith and ensured that the state is put on a proper footing. The victory as proclaimed by the Justices of Court of Appeal, Abuja, is exactly as I predicted on Thursday.”
“The unadulterated truth is that Delta is a one party state and that party is the Peoples Democratic Party, which was why a former governor, who exited the party, could not win a senatorial election on the platform of another party.
“Okowa’s resounding victory is in the interest of every Deltan , not because it is a win-win situation for all and sundry, but from the situation on ground physically, the governor is prudently managing available resources and transforming the state.
“I knew he would win because Deltans voted for him and having been following the case, I addressed reporters on Thursday, saying the tribunal judgment that upheld his victory by INEC was lucid, and had no grounds for Court of Appeal to upturn it, which was what you saw today (yesterday).
“I congratulate Governor Okowa for living up to the confidence Deltans reposed in him, I congratulate the Justices of the Court of Appeal for fittingly dispensing justice and Deltans for keeping faith with their governor, a man of character and boundless energy to serve,” he said.
“As a lawyer and criminologist following the matter and who participated in the election that led to his victory, I want to say that he convincingly won
“Not surprising to many of us, Senator Okowa has turned out to be the best governor of the state since the democratic experimentation started in 1999 until date,” he said.
The PDP leader, who fought for Okowa’s re-election asserted, “The entire world knows that Okowa won the last governorship election, Deltans gave him their support and mandate, and therefore, there is nothing from what is contained in the judgment of the tribunal that anybody is going to use to upturn his victory in the Appeal Court.”
“The APC and its candidate did not even campaign for votes in the last governorship elections; they were busy quarreling among themselves, even a week to the election.
“They had thought that they would rely on hooligans and military, which rejected them, to cow the people on Election Day and and finally run to the court to get what do not exist.
“We should not listen to and indulge those that usually come to the state few months to election to disturb our peace, and file action in the court after serial defeats to waste our time and distract governance.
“The governor is a gentleman that has conducted himself in the best tradition and with administrative sagacity and selflessness; he has also dispelled all fears of agitation and bickering in the state. Let us all support him to finish stronger and better,” he added.
The appellants in a 37- ground of appeal filed by their counsel, Nicholson Ichekor, asked the Court of Appeal to set aside the entire judgment of the tribunal on the grounds that the tribunal erred in law when it dismissed their appeal for lacking in merit.
The three- man panel of the governorship election panel led by Justice Suleiman Belgore, had in September dismissed Ogboru and APC’s petition against the return of Governor Okowa on grounds that the petitioners failed to prove the cases of irregularities and malpractices claimed in their petition.
However, in the appeal against the decision of the tribunal, Ogboru and APC argued that the lower court , among other things, erred in law when it relied on the issue of over voting instead of allocation of votes as canvassed in their petition to dismiss their petition.
The appellants in urging the court to nullify Okowa’s election claimed that in some polling units, the total number of votes cast at the election exceeded the total number of voters accredited to vote, adding that there was non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act in relation to accreditation of voters.
