Pro- Wrestling Federation President congratulates Dapo Abiodun on his Supreme Court Victory

President of Nigeria Professional Wrestling Federation (NPWF), High Chief John Uche has congratulated Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun on his recent victory at the Supreme Court.
The Apex Court last Friday upheld the election of Dapo Abiodun as the dully elected Governor of Ogun State.

A five-member panel of the Supreme Court, headed by John Okoro, held that the Peoples Democratic Party Governorship candidate, Ladi Adebutu, failed to prove allegations of non-compliance with the Electoral Act during the conduct of the 18 March poll.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had announced that Dapo Abiodun polled 276,298 votes to beat his closest challenger, Adebutu who scored 262,383 votes.

But Mr Adebutu disagreed with the outcome of the poll, prompting him to file a petition at the Ogun State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal in Abeokuta to challenge the result.

In his quest to overturn the governor’s victory, Adebutu alleged, among others, that the poll was not conducted in substantial compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022.

But, Adebutu’s petition was dismissed by the Hamidu Kunaza-led three-member tribunal, affirming Abiodun’s election. He proceeded to the Court of Appeal to challenge the decision.

Delivering judgement on the appeal, the Court of Appeal, in its majority judgement of the three-member panel that was delivered by Joseph Ikyegh, said there was no reason to overturn the judgement of the tribunal.

But in her dissenting, minority judgement, Jane Inyang directed INEC to withdraw the Certificate of Return it issued to Dapo Abiodun and, within 90 days, conduct a fresh election in some polling units in the state.

Arguing the case at the Supreme Court, the electoral commission said the Governorship and Presidential elections were not determined by a margin of lead but by the spread of votes, in line with the provision of section 179 of the Nigerian constitution.

Similarly, Dapo Abiodun’s lawyer, Wole Olanipekun, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), prayed the court to dismiss the appeal.

He urged the court to uphold Mr Abiodun’s victory as the validly elected Governor of Ogun State, a prayer the Supreme court upheld.

In his congratulatory message, High Chief Uche said the Supreme Court victory is a testimony to the independence of the country’s judiciary noting that with the victory, the Governor will now concentrate on delivering more dividends of democracy to his state which he has been doing since his first tenure

“The victory is well deserved because majority of Ogun State citizens voted for Dapo Abiodun to continue his good work which he has been doing for more than four years now.

“The Supreme Court judgement is also important because apart from confirming the independence of the country’s judiciary, it also shows that our judiciary is the hope of the common man
High Chief Uche believes that with this final victory, the Governor will now face his job with full concentration devoid of distractions even as he pledged that Nigerian Professional wrestlers are ready to partner with the state in moving sports forward especially as Ogun State prepares for the hosting of the National Sports Festival later this year.
The wrestling boss reminded the Governor about the intention of his body to promote Pro- wrestling championship in the state to herald the National Sports Festival.