Speech delivered by Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri after the Supreme Court judgement that affirmed his victory as duly elected governor of Adamawa State.
Monday, February 5, 2024
Fellow citizens of Adamawa State.
I want to start on a personal philosophical note. When I took the decision to join partisan politics, I walked into it with the conviction that the road to success is bumpy and rough. I have deliberately avoided flat and opportunistic routes with the firm belief that my call is to smoothen and sharpen them. This conviction is my ready-made answer to most of you who kept asking why I remain undisturbed, unshaken and undistracted since we started the renewed journey to unleashing fresh Air to the people of Adamawa State.
I have remained calm when the coup to steal your mandate failed. Even when the perpetrators had the temerity and shamelessness to go to the Courts looking for what they failed to forcefully take, my conduct has remained the same. I don’t look for what is not mine. But I have in reckless abundance, the patience and courage to protect what is rightfully mine against any predator. This is what defines my path in politics. A path that leads my spirit to collect all my senses in one place even when provoked. I give all the glory to God that we are where we are today. The Supreme Court verdict of Wednesday 31st January 2024, has officially closed all the noise on the 2023 election in Adamawa State. The days of lying and deceits are over. The moments of false propaganda and cheap talks are gone.
It is no longer in contest that Adamawa state is a state for the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP). This has been affirmed both at the polls and in the courts. The people have spoken loud and clear. A testament to this, is our latest victory at the Mayo Belwa Constituency House of Assembly rerun election. I want to thank everyone who participated in this election, especially the voters who felt that the best icing they can put on the cake of the Supreme Court verdict, for us as a party and our dear state is that we deserved victory. It isn’t a win for the candidate or even for Mayo- Belwa alone, it is a win for the PDP and everyone who believe in the Adamawa Project under my leadership.
Fellow Adamawa citizens, you went to the polls, you voted for us believing that we are the best for you. You stood by us at a time when some miscreants wanted to steal your mandates. You were there with us in the various courtrooms to demonstrate your resistance to state capture. You never wavered. For doing all these and more, you have proved that your love for us, for your state and for the future of Adamawa State is beyond quantification. We are forever indebted to you for choosing yourself and the future of our dear State in this journey. This judgement is a tonic to spur Professor Farauta and I, to do more for you and our dear state.
As a government, we are humbled by the fact that the best way to pay back is to serve you well. By serving you well, I mean a renewed dedication to our ongoing policy of free education through functional public school system and payment of WAEC and NECO for our children; provision of healthcare and health insurance that makes it easier for the vulnerable to access quality service with ease: continuity in the provision of urban and rural infrastructure;
continuity of policies that empower our women and youths; continuity of justice and fair play; continuity of peace and a security architecture that makes your life a priority; continuous onslaught against the nefarious urban miscreants known as the Shila boys; continuity in a system that confers on you pride, dignity and self- respect as brethren of Adamawa State and indeed more reinforcement that would forever bury election bandits into a pit beyond resurrection.
I must appreciate INEC for standing firm as an unbiased electoral umpire in this election even when its Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), acted irresponsibly and unlawfully. The Supreme Court in its judgement has condemned the action of the REC as an act of “irresponsibility and criminality”. As for those who connived with the REC to make us pass through those democratically embarrassing moments, I want to assure you once again, that we owe it a duty to prosecute all of them according to the dictates of the law. This is the only way we can protect our electoral process and democratic culture from undue abuse.
The Hon. Justices at the different layers of the courts have indeed painstaking dissected the petition brought at various levels and came out with a judgement that resonates with the people of Adamawa State. A judgement that is fair and just. Indeed, this has reaffirmed our belief in the judiciary as the last hope of the common man..
To our legal team led by Damian Dodo SAN, MA Mahmoud SAN, Chief Leonard Nzadon and all the other Counsels that brought us to this point, you are simply the best team to lead me to the court room anytime any day. THANK YOU.
I have at various stages, implored all the litigants and everyone that has Adamawa at heart to set aside whatever misgivings and move on. We have wasted enough time. We have raised false hopes and rendered enough havoc to the anxious psyche of our supporters. We have inflicted enough injury to our bond and unity as a people. I am saying now, enough is enough! There is a limit to what falsehood can achieve. Adamawa state is greater than each one of us. The task ahead is enormous, requiring unity of purpose, a pooling of resources, integration of talents and leveraging the unique attributes of each of us, to reinvent a better society for our people.
Thank you and God bless Adamawa State.
