Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State on Wednesday congratulated President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo for their success in the presidential election.
DAILY POST recalls that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Wednesday morning declared Buhari as the winner of the 2019 presidential election.
Buhari, who contested under the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), scored a total of 15,191,847 to beat his main challenger, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who scored 11,262,978.
Bello, in a radio broadcast in the state, described Buhari’s second term victory as a “watershed moment”.
He also said that those behind the loss of lives during the presidential and National Assembly elections will be brought to justice.
The Governor said: “The reelection of Mr. President along with his able running mate, His Excellency, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, marks the watershed moment of the 2019 general elections, and in particular, the presidential and National Assembly Elections.
“I thank the great people of Kogi State for their massive turnout and peaceful conduct. This amply demonstrates your commitment to the democratic process characterised by free and fair elections.
“We have done our best to complement your aspirations by placing the credibility and integrity of the electoral system above any desires to win every contested seat, and by all available means.
“Despite initial teething pains and some malignancy in the campaigns, we did our best to provide the secure and conducive atmosphere needed by our people to exercise their franchise freely. In the end, the good people of Kogi State spoke loud and clear that despite any shortcomings, government at state and federal levels have acted substantially in line with their mandate.
“The voice of the people is the voice of God. Our people have resoundingly insisted that while change must now make way for progress, the All Progressives Congress still remains their preferred driver for the journey ahead.
“As a government, we have been forced to function with only one federal legislator in the entire state, so the outcomes of these elections are a great victory and a precious gift to us by you. By your votes, you have improved our abilities to function well as a government by giving us a majority of the elected federal legislators. It will now be easier for what belongs to us to be harnessed in Abuja and brought home for the benefit of our communities.
“I am saddened by the pockets of violence which marred the elections in some constituencies and led to loss of lives and properties. I am particularly pained by the death of Mr. Daniel Usman who came out to exercise his civic duty to vote only to have his life cut short by a stray bullet at Anyigba. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family and to all those who may have suffered unjustly in any other manner.
“Most significantly, I also give them my word that we will ensure they get justice by getting to the roots of the problems and bringing all perpetrators to book. We will ensure that legal action is taken against individuals and institutions which prevented or disrupted the conduct of elections in some polling units across the state.
“Our stated objective of zero tolerance for crimes and insecurity remain intact, thus we cannot condone such recklessness or neglect to punish them.
“As we prepare for the state Assembly Elections on March 9, we again urge our people to troop out en-masse and cast their votes. It will help the conduct of government business greatly if our people can also help us again by voting people at all state constituencies who will not delay or totally derail the business of government with unnecessary party politics. Nevertheless, we reiterate that our primary commitment is for everyone to come out and vote their choice without any form of duress.”
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