Gov. Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State and his Plateau counterpart, Simon Lalong, have lauded the Supreme Court judgements that affirmed their elections.
The two governors, who spoke with journalists after the judgements on Monday in Abuja, said that the apex court had proved that the judiciary was the last hope of the common men.
Mohammed said that the court verdict had confirmed his mandate and that it was now time to concentrate on quality governance.
“I want to appreciate the people of Bauchi State who have voted for me across party lines.
“I will make sure I work with them without discrimination. I will make sure I give them good governance and ensure nobody is excluded.
“I am extending hands of fellowship to the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mohammed Abubakar.
He should come and join hands with me so that we can continue from where he stopped,” Mohammed said.
Also reacting, Lalong said that the judgement had rekindled his confidence in the judiciary as the last hope of the common man.
He thanked God that the litigation had finally ended at the Supreme Court, freeing him to fully concentrate on serving the Plateau people.
“I thank the good people of Plateau who voted for me. Today, their mandate is validated. I will continue to serve them with all my strength and energy,” Lalong said.
He appealed to the people of the state to quickly put the protracted litigation behind and unite toward building a prosperous state, NAN reports.
“The election has finished; litigation is over and it is now time to serve the people. For me, I am going to embrace the opponent, especially our father, Sen Jerry Useni, who brought us through this journey.
“I know he is not tired. We will make sure we tap from his experience so as to build a state we shall all be happy to call our own,” Lalong said.
The supreme court on Monday affirmed the election of Mohammed.
Also, the apex Court struck out the appeal challenging the return of Simon Lalong as duly elected Governor of Plateau State.
The court in a unanimous judgement held that the appellants, Sen. Jeremiah Useni and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, failed to prove allegations made against the victory of Lalong of APC in the March 9 governorship election in Plateau.