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Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta has congratulated his Osun counterpart, Sen. Ademola Adeleke, on his victory at the Appeal Court on Friday.

Welcoming the appellate court’s verdict as a healthy development, Okowa said in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Olisa Ifeajika, in Asaba, that the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, which nullified Adeleke’s election earlier, did not do justice to the case.

He commended the three-man panel of the Appellate Court for rightfully setting aside the erroneous judgement of the Election Tribunal, adding that the judgement of the court was a victory for the nation’s democracy and a reaffirmation of the responsibility of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to act as an unbiased umpire.

“I welcome the judgement of the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on the Osun Governorship Election Petition with immense joy and appreciation to the judiciary for doing justice on the matter.

“This ruling has once again reaffirmed the powers and responsibility of INEC to act as an unbiased umpire, especially in dealing with the issues of the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) in checking over-voting and non-compliance with the Electoral Act.

“I must commend the courage and sagacity exhibited by the three-man panel of the Appeal Court, which ruled that the petitioners failed to prove their allegation of over-voting and substantial non-compliance.

“On behalf of my family, the government and people of Delta, I congratulate my brother Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, on this reassuring victory.

“This victory is coming at a time when the Osun people have embraced the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as their party which they rightly voted for in all the National and State Assembly elections in the just-concluded General Elections.

“This victory is for all Osun people as indeed light has come to outshine the forces of darkness,” he said.