Uduaghan Celebrates Supreme Court Victory With Thanksgiving By FIDELIS EGUGBO IMAGINE what would have happened if the Supreme Court verdict proclaiming Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan as the duly elected governor of Delta State was to the contrary. A lot of people would have become jobless, most of the programmes of the governor would have been abandoned and above all other things, ponder on what would have been the faith of Deltans and democrats. It was therefore not a surprise when Governor Uduaghan, accompanied by all political appointees in the state, went to the First Baptist Church, Warri, to give praise and thanksgiving to God for the victory at the Supreme Court. That victory put a nail to the legal tussle between the governor and his arch-political rival, Chief Great Ogboru of the Democratic People’s Party (DPP). Since the emergence of Dr. Uduaghan in 2007 as the governor-elect in the state, he has faced a lot of legal tussles and in 2010, there was a verdict against the election of the governor which prompted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct another gubernatorial election in January, 2011 and the people of the state spoke with one voice and Dr. Uduaghan emerged as the elected governor in that January re-run election. That same year was billed for the general elections in the country. The issue then was having won an election in January, would Governor Uduaghan contest in another governorship election in April that same year? Of course, against all odds, either constitutional or whatever means, INEC conducted another governorship election in the state within a period of four months and again, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, who had consistently contested the elections on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) was declared winner. The question most people asked then was, would INEC have conducted another governorship election within a period of four months if someone other than Dr. Uduaghan had won the January, 2011 re-run election? After the general elections of 2011, a lot legal tussles ensued to the extent that the Supreme Court had to hear the case twice. At the last judgement, the apex court of the land described the case as an abuse of legal process and warned that the case should not be presented again before it. Dr. Uduaghan last Sunday disclosed that from 2007 till date, he has had 19 court cases presided over by 77 judges which could be the highest number of cases that has been recorded by any single politician in Nigerian history. Who will remind the operators of Guinness Book of Records about this unusual feat? No doubt, Governor Uduaghan and his political appointees deserve to celebrate the Supreme Court victory. Naturally, Deltans who ensured that he emerged victorious in the general elections are also enjoying the benefits of having their elective representative in position of authority are also happy as they took all available space within the church and its premises. “For us, this thanksgiving service is very important and critical, if you know our political history, since 2007, it has been a long struggle. We had 19 cases within the last seven years and a total of 77 judges were involved and I heard that is the highest recorded case in Nigeria today by any politician,” Governor Uduaghan said at the thanksgiving service. Despite the series of court cases, Governor Uduaghan was of the belief that his mandate was to cater for the needs of Deltans by executing programmes that will be of benefit to the people of the state. Imaging such novel programmes like free maternal and child health care, having a world class teaching hospital where kidney transplant and other medical break-throughs are taking place, construction of airports that are functional, having a befitting structure for Government House, construction of bridges and tarring of long kilometres of roads not minding if they are federal roads. One cannot forget the free education in the state from primary to secondary levels and provision of automatic scholarship to Deltans who bagged First Class to further their studies in any part of the world. Governor Uduaghan’s desire is to finish strong and with the clear verdict by the Supreme Court, he will consolidate on the achievements he has recorded and naturally, by the grace of God, finishing strong will not be an impossible task. Fly-over is no longer strange in Delta State because by December, residents of Warri and Asaba will be making use of such and again, there will be free flow of traffic in those areas where they are being constructed. At that thanksgiving service, which was also attended by members of the diplomatic corps, Governor Uduaghan said he nursed no grudge against anybody who must have worked against him, stating that his programmes will be executed to the glory of God and to the benefit of every Deltan and humanity.
Posted on: Sun, 08 Jun 2014 04:23:10 +0000
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