The governor of Ebonyi State, Francis Nwifuru, has asked the candidates who ran against him in the March election to work together a with him and implement the plans outlined in their manifestos to advance and flourish the state.
In response to his triumph at the Abuja election petition tribunal, Nwifuru made the call on Wednesday in Abakaliki.
The tribunal rejected the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Ifeanyichukwu Odii’s suit challenging Nwifuru’s election as governor on March 18, 2023.
The panel also ruled that both the petition and the candidate for the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Prof. Bernard Odoh, lacked merit.
“I approached my opponents after my electoral victory to join me in developing the state, but they approached the tribunal for justice.
“I still urge them to bring the ideas in their manifestos for us to develop and make the state prosperous,” he said.
He dedicated his court victory to God, saying that those who petitioned his victory knew he had won the election.
He thanked Ebonyi people for massively voting for him and, as such, made his petitioners file only one ground of petition.
“They contested that I was not a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) by the time I contested the election.
“The tribunal judiciously dismissed the claim because what qualifies someone to contest for a position is already stated in the electoral act.
“Once someone contests in a party’s primaries, wins and name is submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), such a person is a member of that party,” he said.