The Governor of Oyo State, Engineer Seyi Makinde, says that the mandate of the people of Oyo State given to him through the March 9 governorship election remains intact following the ruling of the Court of Appeal in Ibadan.

A statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, declares that the mandate given to Governor Makinde by the people of Oyo State cannot be taken through the backdoor.

According to the statement, Governor Makinde said there was no ambiguity as to the state of things in our pacesetter state as far as the election of March 9, 2019, is concerned maintaining that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won the election.

The statement notes that the victory was reaffirmed by a ruling of the Election Petitions Tribunal, sitting in Ibadan, the state capital.

The statement states that the Court refused to nullify the election, it refused to order a fresh election and it also refused to order the retrial of the petition.

“With the above being the reality of the outcome of the Appeal Court ruling, the election of Engineer Seyi Makinde as the Governor of Oyo State has just been reaffirmed.

There is nothing in the Appeal Court’s ruling that affects the returns made by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and there is nothing that tampers with the mandate freely given to Engineer Seyi Makinde by the people of Oyo State.”

Governor Makinde urged the good people of Oyo State to remain calm and refuse to be provoked by agents of disruption who are seeking to upturn the truth, which remains constant against all odds.

Governor Makinde insisted that positive governance and unprecedented development would continue to be the portion of the people of Oyo state through his tenure.

Iyabo Adebisi