BY EDMOND ODOK – Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State has urged residents of the State to accept the Supreme Court ruling affirming his March 18, 2023, electoral victory as no amount of protests can change anything going forward.
Accordingly, he has advised political opponents and critics to embrace peace and learn from the maturity displayed by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) members who heeded the advice to shun protest when the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal (GEPT) ruled against him.
Governor Sule, who was speaking with State House correspondents on Friday after meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, urged his opponents and all well-meaning individuals to join hands with him in building the state.
The Governor, who disclosed that his presence at the State House was a ‘Thank You Visit’ to the president, in the company of his predecessors in Nasarawa State, Senators Abdullahi Adamu and Umar Tanko Al-Makura, also appealed to those protesting against the apex Court ruling to hold their peace as nothing could be done to change the verdict which remains final on the election dispute.
Responding to reporters’ questions on the protest, Governor Sule said; “Nasarawa is a state where we had over 600,000 votes and we won with over 340,000 votes, so you will know that over 200,000 people did not vote for us. So, if out of these 200,000 people who did not vote for us, another set of 1,000 people are protesting somewhere, then you will know because it’s a day that not everybody will be happy.
“In every state where the Supreme Court passed judgment, in every one of these states, you will find some people are happy and some other people not happy. But I think people who understand what democracy is all about will understand that the Supreme Court is the ultimate and is the final and those who appreciate or respect democracy should leave it right there because protests or no protest will not change anything, the Supreme Court has already passed its judgment.
“So, in our case, when we lost at the tribunal, we told everybody, nobody should protest and that’s why nobody protested, but that is the level of maturity that you will see from one political party or the other. We are a very mature political party, we’re the ruling party in the country, we’re the ruling party in the state and we’re showing a good example, so that’s why we will not protest.”
Governor Sule thanked Almighty God for the opportunity of democracy in Nigeria and the President for ensuring that fairness was done without undue interference and allowing the justice system to work.
He said: “As far as we are concerned in Nasarawa State, we have won at the Court of Appeal unanimously. We also won today with the five justices being led by a panel of the highly respected Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun (JSC). So, we have to thank Almighty Allah that we also had all five justices in support of us and that’s why we came.
“All the issues, as far as elections are concerned, are over today. We call on our opponents, without any grudge whatsoever, to come and join us so we can build our state. Nasarawa State is next to Abuja. Nasarawa State is today in the North-Central, the only state that has commercial quantity discovery of oil. It is the only state, so far, that is building minerals processing plants.
“We already have one of the lithium factories almost concluded and as you know, it is also a state that we are very lucky where we have agriculture that is flourishing. In fact, on my right hand, is the biggest local farmer that we have in the state and he’s rushing to go back for his harvest because he’s started harvesting.”
Forefront News reports that a protest took place in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital on Friday, January 19, following the ruling by the Supreme Court affirming the Governor’s electoral victory.
The protesters completely blocked the popular Lafia-Jos road by setting up bonfires which for hours disrupted commercial activities as well as prevented travelers and other road users from having easy passage through the state to reach their respective destinations.
The unfortunate development saw motorists and commuters having to divert and access alternative routes out of Lafia to continue their journey either to Abuja, Jos, or Markurdi depending on their destinations.
