On Tuesday, June 1, Governor Godwin Obaseki led Edo people, party faithful and other supporters to a victory parade across major streets and roads in Benin metropolis to celebrate his victory at the Supreme Court.
During the parade, Obaseki told Edo people that the victory at the Supreme Court has put an end to godfatherism in the state.
“The fight all this while is for us to cooperate with a few persons to share Edo commonwealth; they want us to continue to feed godfathers. If I had agreed, there would not be any fight in the first place,” Obaseki said.
“This victory is to work for Edo people and develop the state. We must not go back but Edo must move forward. We have embarked on this victory march to thank Edo people, as the victory belongs to God and Edo people. Through your support and determination, you have shown that Edo is Edo, not Lagos or Imo.
“We thank God for the victory of the Supreme Court judgment. In the election, Edo people cast their vote for our party but APC didn’t have respect for Edo people as they took us to court and wanted to turn the people’s mandate by all means, but God saw us through the battle,” he said.
Indeed, it has been a long walk to victory for Obaseki. Winning a second term of office in the September 19, 2020 election was only the beginning of the journey.
Obaseki contested the Edo governorship seat in 2016 on the platform of the All Progressive Congress and defeated his major rival, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, then of the Peoples Democratic Party, to emerge winner of the election.
Following a bumpy ride through his first tenure in office, Governor Obaseki, once again, scaled through the hurdles of certificate forgery allegations levelled against him that would have made his second term last for a short time.
Unlike a year ago when he was disqualified by a screening committee constituted by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) from contesting in the party’s primaries, today, the governor is elated after a turbulent period.
After sailing through the plot of the powers that be, the outcome of the evaluation and screening process compelled Obaseki to pursue his second term ambition in the major opposition party, People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
The September 19, 2020 governorship election came and went with Obaseki emerging victorious over his opponents.
He was, however, until May 28, 2021, still uncertain about the future due to several suits contesting his certificate that was submitted alongside other documents to Nigeria’s electoral body, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Obaseki, who successfully finished the first lap of the election, was, thereafter, confronted with the last lap that would allow him to sit comfortably and confidently at Dennis Osadebay Avenue to govern the people without fright.
Not long ago, May 28 precisely, Nigeria’s apex court affirmed Obaseki’s victory in last year’s governorship poll and dismissed the alleged certificate forgery suit preferred against him by Osagie Ize-Iyamu, his main challenger and the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the election.
The cases commenced from the lower rung to the top rung of the judicial ladder with all rulings to the advantage of the governor. Beginning from the Federal High Court, Abuja, the alleged certificate forgery suit against the governor was dismissed on January 9, 2020.
Apparently not satisfied with the decision of the lower court, the APC approached the Court of Appeal to challenge the judgment.
On March 18, the appellate court held that the case the APC brought to vacate the January 9 verdict of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which authenticated Obaseki’s University of Ibadan degree certificate, lacked merit and that the lower court was right in its findings and conclusions.
Also, five petitions filed against Obaseki of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) were dismissed by the electoral petition tribunal for lack of merit.
The aggrieved parties predicated their cases on the basis of controversial degree result the governor submitted alongside nomination and expression of interest forms to INEC for the purpose of the election, and claims of unlawful exclusion from the poll.
The most recent was the Supreme Court judgment which came barely 48 hours after the Benin division of the Court of Appeal upheld the judgment of the Edo State governorship election petition tribunal which affirmed Godwin Obaseki’s victory in the September 19 poll in the state.
In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court upheld the ruling of the Court of Appeal, saying that the appellants failed to provide credible evidence to substantiate their claims.
The judgment of the apex court puts an end to the travails and settles all controversies surrounding the governor’s certificate that would have brought dishonour and blemish to his reputation.
Obaseki’s journey through the courts has reaffirmed that the judiciary remains the last resort and the final hope for the common man.
