Time is Nigh for Sani to Face Real Governance in Kaduna
With the Supreme Court last week affirming the election of Senator Uba Sani as governor of Kaduna state, it’s now time for him to focus on real governance, writes John Shiklam.
With his affirmation by the Supreme Court as duly elected governor of Kaduna state, the time has come for Governor Uba Sani to settle down for real business. For the past seven months, governance has been at a low ebb as a result of the distraction by the legal tussle over the out come of the March 18, 2023 governorship election.
With the final pronouncements by the Supreme Court, Kaduna citizens cannot wait to see their governor swing into action to fulfill his promises to them.
In Nigeria, one of the challenges elected officials face is the distraction by prolonged election litigations and uncertainty about its outcome.
The governor himself has been up and doing despite the distractions, but now that he has emerged victorious, more attention will be given to governance.
Sani himself, harped on the need to take Kaduna state to higher level while reacting to his victory.
“The final seal by the Supreme Court, it is time to join hands and take Kaduna state to a higher level”. The governor in a statement shortly after commended the apex court for the “sound judgment.”
He promised to run a people-centered, inclusive and pro-development administration, adding that his door is opened to all stakeholders in the state.
Sani also thanked his opponent Isa Ashiru for embracing the legal process and ventilating his grievances. He assured that any citizen of the state who has something to contribute will be given an opportunity.
“The Supreme Court in a unanimous decision today put a final seal on the mandate freely given to me by the good people of Kaduna state. With the legal disputations over, it is time for us to join hands to take Kaduna state to a higher level,” he said in a statement.
He promised to run a people-centered, inclusive and pro-development administration adding that his door is opened to all stakeholders in the Kaduna Project.
“Any citizen of Kaduna State who has something to contribute will be given an opportunity. It is about the glory of Kaduna State, not personal glory”, the governor said.
According to him, the judgment of the apex court was a confirmation “we were given a mandate to better the lots of our people… “
“With abiding faith in the Almighty God, we shall deliver on the Sustain Agenda and make Kaduna State a model of development in Nigeria”, the governor said.
On its part, the opposition PDP, lamented that it did not get justice because the matter was decided strictly on technicalities rather than the substance of the case.
State Chairman of the PDP, Hassan Hyet, in a statement said, the party is consoled with the fact that it won the three senatorial seats in the state, seven House of Representatives seats and 12 seats in the state House of Assembly.
Hyet thanked supporters of the PDP and appealed to them to accept the outcome of the judgment as the will of God.
“Although, we did not get justice at the court owing to the fact that the matter was decided strictly on technicalities and not the substance of the case, we appeal to our teeming supporters to remain calm and accept this outcome as the will of God for us all”, he said.
Hyet said the PDP will continue to work with the people and hold the government accountable in the allocation of resources and projects.
“Having won the presidential election in the state, all three senators from the state, seven members of the House of Representatives, and two others facing a rerun, 12 members of the House of Assembly and two others also facing a rerun, the people of Kaduna State have clearly shown that the PDP remains their party of choice.
“We want to assure everyone of our party’s resolve to continue working with the people in holding the government of the state accountable and ensuring equity, justice, and fairness in the allocation of government resources and projects”, the state PDP chairman said.
The election dispute started at the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal where Isa Ashiru, candidate of the PDP, challenged the election of Sani on the grounds that he did not win majority votes.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Sani as the winner of the March 18, 2023, governorship election in the state, having polled 730,001 votes against Ashiru’s 719,196 votes.
Isa and his party, told the tribunal that the governor was not duly elected by a majority of valid votes cast, and that the election was invalid as it was characterised by corrupt practices and noncompliance with provisions of the Electoral Act 2022.
The petitioners also told the tribunal that some polling unit results were allegedly wrongfully cancelled, maintaining that there were inconsistencies in accreditation records from INEC.
However, delivering its judgment on September 28, 2023, the tribunal, in a two-to-one split judgement dismissed the petition and upheld Sani’s election victory.
The tribunal headed by Justice Victor Oviawie, in its majority judgment, said the PDP and its candidate did not file their pre-hearing application within the time stipulated by law, and therefore, the petition was deemed abandoned.
The tribunal however, held that if it were to determine the case on its merit, it would have ordered INEC to conduct a supplementary election in 22 polling units in the state within 90 days.