Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri has said the ruling of the Supreme Court on the Osun State governorship election was an affirmation that power in a democracy resides with the people.
Governor Diri, who congratulated Governor Ademola Adeleke in a statement issued by his chief press secretary, Daniel Alabrah, expressed joy that the Supreme Court sealed the mandate freely given to the governor by Osun people.
The Bayelsa governor said the verdict reflected the current mood of the country where those whose stock-in-trade is to promote electoral violence and subvert the will of the people have no place in our electoral system.
He expressed the hope that introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) will instill more confidence in the electoral process, urging the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deepen Nigeria’s democracy by also introducing electronic voting and transmission of polling results.
Diri urged the Osun governor to be magnanimous in victory and work towards enthroning a culture of tolerance and promotion of peace in order to unite the Osun people.
He said having interacted closely with Adeleke, he is confident that he would meet the expectations of people of the state in delivering of the dividends of democracy.
“I congratulate my brother-governor of Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke, on the affirmation of his victory by the Supreme Court. The verdict of the apex court is an affirmation that power in a democracy resides with the people.
“I therefore urge him to be magnanimous in victory and work towards ensuring peace and unity among people of the state regardless of their political party.
“I also call on INEC to deepen the democratic and electoral process by going beyond BVAS to equally introduce electronic voting and electronic transmission of votes. This way, those whose stock-in-trade is electoral violence and manipulation of the ballot will be rendered ineffective in our electoral process.
“I have no doubt that Senator Adeleke will meet the expectations of the Osun people in delivering the dividends of democracy to them,” he said.
