Reacting to the judgment, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu, in Abuja, the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), said, “I am glad this tortuous journey has ended in favour of the party and our governors. The APC won the states and has proved it in court. It would have been a major blow if strategically important states like Kano and Plateau are lost.”
Buhari urged the “electorate and politicians to strengthen the country’s judicial processes by always seeking redress in court.”
The retired general, however, chided the opposition’s habit or standard procedure of “challenging any poll or judgment that does not return its candidates.”
He said, “Election is good when they win. The opposite is the case if someone else emerges. But that is not the way it works. Democracy is not only about who wins or who loses, but also about the process. In disparaging every unfavourable result or judgment, they disparage the entire system.”
Meanwhile, the Bauchi State governor has called on the governorship candidate of the APC to join hands with his administration.
This was contained in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mukhtar Gidado.
The media aide quoted his principal as saying, “I extended my hands of friendship to the defeated APC candidate, Mohammad Abubakar, so as to consolidate the projects he failed to execute.
“The court’s verdict reaffirms my faith in the country’s judicial system and I want to assure the people of the state who voted for me unanimously, that I will consider them without any differences.”
In the same vein, the Bauchi State chapter of the PDP also applauded the Supreme Court Justices for ensuring that justice prevailed.
The state Publicity Secretary of the party, Yayanuwa Zainabari, said the development would encourage Mohammed to focus more on delivering good governance to the people of the state.
Tambuwal, at a thanksgiving prayers inside the Sokoto State Government House mosque after the verdict, said, “I give glory to Allah for the gift of life and this victory.
“There is nothing else to say than to thank God and all the Muslim clerics for your prayers both at all the Jumaat mosque and the one organised at the Eid ground.
Lalong, on Monday, declared that his administration would now concentrate to deliver good governance to the people, having been freed from distractions.
The governor said this in a statement by his Director of Press and Public Affairs, Dr Macham Makut.
He said, “I dedicate this victory to God and the people of Plateau State, irrespective of their political, social, religious or ethnic affiliations.
“The time now is for governance and the actualisation of our Next Level agenda encapsulated in our three-point vision of peace, security and good governance; Infrastructural development and sustainable economic rebirth.”
Ganduje said following the apex court’s final verdict, it was paramount for him and his challengers to forgive one another.
He said, “Since both of us might have been aggrieved in one way or the other, then, it behooves us to forgive each other, forget whatever happened in the past and reconcile to move the state forward.”
Meanwhile, the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has congratulated Tambuwal, on his victory at the Supreme Court.
Wike described Tambuwal’s victory as resounding and a confirmation of the overwhelming support given to him by the people of Sokoto State.
In a statement by the State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Pailinus Nsirim, Wike said, “I enjoin Governor Tambuwal to work for the unity and growth of the state through all-inclusive governance.”
