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KOWA, a political party, has urged Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo to be magnanimous in his political victory by working with all stakeholders, irrespective of political affiliations.
Mr Thompson Osadolor, KOWA’s candidate in the 2016 Edo Governorship election, gave the advice in an interview, in Benin, on Tuesday.
Osadolor, who was reacting to Obaseki’s victory at the Supreme Court, described the victory as a call to unite all stakeholders for the purpose of moving the state forward.
He said just like his previous victory at the Tribunal and Appeal Court, the Supreme Court victory had again reaffirmed that the people truly voted for Obaseki to be the Governor.
Osadolor said, “Now that the legal battle of the governorship election has been put to rest, it is time for all, irrespective of political affiliations, to put the state at work.
“We must all now come together to work for the common good of the people and the state.
‘’We must now put our individual interest or ambition on hold for the common good of all.
“As for the Governor, I urge him to see his victory as a call to unite all, whether they worked for him or not.
“He should be magnanimous and humble enough to tap knowledge from his political opponents. What matters most is the overall development of the state,’’ he said.
Osadolor said many candidates that contested the election with Obaseki did so with the desire to uplift the standard of living of our people and for the overall growth of the state.
“In going into the contest however, we were also conscious of the fact that only one will emerge as governor at the end of the day.
“My point here is that since Obaseki defeated us to the seat, he needs our support; let us avail ourselves to exist him when he request for it.
“Obaseki is the governor today; his time has come and it will definitely end one day for another person to take the battle of leadership, but the state remains while leaders come and go.”
Obaseki, who contested the election the election on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC), September 2016, defeated his closest rival and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Mr Osagie Ize-Iyamu.
Ize-Iyamu, who was not satisfied with the results of the poll, challenged the victory of Obaseki at the Election Petitions Tribunal alleging irregularity.
However, the Three-Member Edo Election Petition Tribunal in April dismissed the petition filed by the PDP and its candidate, for lack of merit.
Similarly in June, the Appeal Court again upheld Obaseki’s victory at the poll while Ize-Iyamu proceeded to the apex court to challenge the Appeal Court’s judgment.
In the seven-man panel at the Supreme Court on Monday, the judges, in a unanimous decision, dismissed Ize-Iyamu’s case for lack of merit. (NAN)
