Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, on Friday, said that protests against the Supreme Court judgement that affirmed his victory in the March 18, 2023 governorship election will not change anything.
The governor said that the Supreme Court is the ultimate and final court, appealing to all those who appreciate democracy to take the Supreme Court’s verdict in good faith.
He charged the opposition to learn from the maturity displayed by members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) who heeded the advice not to protest when he lost at the tribunal.
This is as Governor Sule alongside the immediate past national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Senator Abdullahi Adamu and the immediate past governor of the state, Senator Tanko Almakura have paid a ‘thank you’ visit to President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, shortly after the Supreme Court affirmed his victory.
“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),” he said, calling on the opposition to, without any grudge whatsoever, to join hands with him to build the state.
Earlier on Friday, there was a protest in Lafia, Nasarawa State capital, following the Supreme Court verdict which affirmed the election of Governor Sule.
Specifically, the Lafia-Jos road was completely blocked as the protesters set bonfire to prevent travelers and other road users.
On the protest over the Supreme Court judgement, he 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 that did not vote for us and other 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 actually 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 actually leave it right there because protests or no protest will not change anything, the Supreme Court has already passed his judgment.
“So, in our own 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.”
Also reacting to the apex court judgement that affirmed his victory, the governor commended President Tinubu for allowing the judiciary to do its work without any interference.
He said, “In line with all the judgments that have been going on in the country, I think first and foremost, we must continue to thank Almighty God for giving us the good health and the opportunity to see the kind of democracy we are seeing.
“We must thank Mr. President, and that’s what brought us here to the Villa. We thank him for the kind of role he continues to play in all of these, by ensuring that fairness is done without undue interference, allowing the justice system to work the way it’s supposed to.
“So we must express our appreciation to him for doing all that to the good people of Nigeria.”
