Ahmed Usman Ododo, the Kogi State Governor, has hailed the decision of the State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal which upheld his election as the duly elected Governor of the state.

On Tuesday, this was contained in a statement issued by Ismaila Isah, the Special Adviser to the governor on Media and Publicity.

Ododo, in an interview with journalists in Abuja on Monday, said, “The tribunal’s victory further affirmed our conviction that God alone gives power to whomever He wishes at any point in life, adding that the ruling of the tribunal is a call for more dedication to the service of the people of Kogi State.”

While praising the federal government for ensuring the independence of the judiciary, Ododo explained that the courts remain the hope of the common man and the bastion of justice, equity and fairness that sustains democracy anywhere in the world.

“We call on opposition parties in the state to join hands with us to ensure rapid development of the state in the interest of unity and peaceful coexistence of the people of the state.

Ododo was elected as the fifth Executive Governor of Kogi State, having scored 446,237 votes to defeat his closest challenger, Muritala Ajaka of the Social Democratic Party, who scored 259,052 votes in the November 11, 2023 Governorship election.

Muritala Ajaka, the SDP candidate and Olayinka Braimoh, candidate of the Action Alliance, Abdullahi Yunusa, candidate of the People’s Redemption Party, subsequently challenged the election of Ododo of the All Progressives Congress in separate petition.

After months of legal battles, the Kogi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, sitting in Abuja on Monday, affirmed Governor Usman Ododo of the APC as the duly elected governor of Kogi State, thereby dismissing the petitions for lack of merit.