Edo State capital, Benin City, erupted in jubilation as a federal high court, Abuja, Saturday, affirmed the eligibility of the state governor, Godwin Obaseki, to participate in the September 19, 2020 governorship in the state.
Drinking joints made brisk business, selling beer to happy customers as a result of the judgment which affirmed the qualification of Obaseki to contest the election.
Immediately the court made the pronouncement, there was pomp and ceremony in the state capital.
Anxiety and tension that had enveloped both members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), dissolved into shout of joy for the PDP camp and gloomy reactions by the APC camp.
The APC and one of its members, William Edobor, had dragged Obaseki through court, accusing him of tendering a fake certificate from the University of Ibadan (UI) to aid his eligibility for the governorship election.
The trial judge, Justice Ahmed Mohammed, while delivering judgment, said the burden was on the plaintiffs to prove allegations of forgery which he said the APC failed to do against Obaseki beyond reasonable doubt.
He therefore dismissed the case in its entirety.
At drinking joints wild jubilation rent the air immediately the news filtered into the city.
There was free flow of drinks for those who drink beer.
At Mama Osas Restaurant at Dawson area of the city, a printer popularly known as Omega, “declared” free beer for every one in the restaurant.
The same was reported across the state capital.
Meanwhile, reactions have continued to trail the judgement.
Reacting, the state chairman of the PDP, Dr Tony Aziegbemhin, urged the APC and its members to accept the judgment in good faith.
He said: “First of all, we give all the glory to God Almighty, we thank most sincerely the judiciary, for standing up for he truth. We all along knew that there was no issues, because of the usual witch hunting, the usual mischief.
“Of course, we thank all Edolite and of course, the PDP family for standing firm with our amiable governor.
“Going forward, we know that they have a right to appeal this judgement however, we think tat it will further be distracting the governor delivering the dividends of democracy to our people.
“So, we appeal that they should take it in its stride, four years is not too far and then come back for the contest and stop distracting the governor from delivering the dividends of democracy to Edo people.”
▪︎Dan Orbih: Verdict described the judgment as welcomed development
The national chairman (south-south) of the PDP, Chief Orbih, said the reaffirmation of the verdict of Edo people was welcomed, as he expressed joy at the victory.
According to him, “The victory at the federal high court in Abuja only reaffirmed the verdict of the people in the September 19, governorship election in EDO state.
“Obaseki’s victory over the All Progressives Congress at the court validates the the will of Edo people as reflected in the poll.”
A former chairman of the APC in the state, Barr. Anslem Ojezua, described the outcome of the suit as an embarrassment to the APC.
Ojezua was chairman of the APC loyal to Governor Obaseki, until recently when he officially announced the withdrawal of his membership of the PDP.
He said he was not surprised by the decision of the court because he knew all along that Obaseki was qualified.
“It is an embarrassment to the APC and I expect them to be sanction by the leadership of the party.
The judgement means that in a democratic setting, the will of the people will always prevail,” he said.
Ojezua called on Obaseki to remain focused and continue to deliver on his promises to Edo people and to ignore any attempt to distract him, because the people are clearly with him.
A former national chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, said the decision of the Abuja federal high court was not unexpected.
When asked for comment on the court’s judgement, he simply said: “No need to comment, it was just that it was not unexpected. I hope they will now let the governor settle down to do his job.”
When contacted on phone by our correspondent, the state publicity secretary of the APC caretaker committee, Chris Azebamwan, said he could not comment on the judgement since he was not in Abuja.
“Which federal high court judgment? I am in Benin, I’m not in Abuja, I’m not in possession of the certified true copy of the judgement. It is not my style to speak without proper information.”
Stay ahead with the latest updates! Join The ConclaveNG on WhatsApp and Telegram for real-time news alerts, breaking stories, and exclusive content delivered straight to your phone. Don’t miss a headline — subscribe now!
