The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday presented the certificate of return to the winner of last weekend governorship election in Adamawa state and the immediate past governor, Murtala Nyako.
Speaking to journalist after the ceremony which took place at the INEC headquarters in Abuja, Mr Nyako called on opposition parties challenging last Saturday’s governorship elections in the state to adopt a sportsmanship attitude and join in the building the state.
He assured the people of Adamawa state of “better things to come in the area of development and economic opportunities” and pleaded with the opposition parties’ threatening to appeal his victory in court, to “put the interest of the state first and join him in building a better state.”
The opposition political parties that are threatening to appeal Mr Nyako’s victory are the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the Congress Progressive Change (CPC) who have rejected the result of the gubernatorial election.
Mr Nyako was first elected into office in 2007 but his election was annulled in February 2008 by the Election Petition Appeal Tribunal which called for a re-run of the election. The former naval officer was re-elected in April 2008 with a landslide victory.
A controversy ensued over the tenure of the new election and a high court’s ruling extended the tenure of the governor beyond last year May when it was supposed to end. However, the Supreme Court last month reviewed the court ruling that extended Mr Nyakos’s and four other governors and ruled that their tenure ended in May last year. Subsequently, the five governors were ordered to vacate the government houses and hand-over power to the speakers of the state houses of assembly.
My Nyako however reclaimed the office after Saturday’s election, claiming victory in 14 of the 21 local government areas in the state.
