Ireti Kingibe extends olive branch to Aduda as tribunal affirms her as FCT senator

The national assembly election petitions tribunal sitting in Abuja has affirmed Ireti Kingibe of the Labour Party (LP) as the senator representing federal capital territory (FCT).

The tribunal upheld her victory in the February 25 polls in a verdict on Tuesday night.

Philip Aduda of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had gone to the tribunal, claiming that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Kingibe as the winner when the collation of results was still ongoing in some areas of the nation’s capital.

But the tribunal dismissed his petition and upheld Kingibe as a senator.

Speaking with reporters in Abuja on Wednesday, Kingibe expressed her desire to work with Aduda for the development of Abuja.

“Yesterday night, the election tribunal affirmed my election as duly elected senator of the federal capital territory,” she said.

“I feel a great sense of relief that I can now start facing the work the people of the FCT elected me to do.

“First I would like to thank the best legal team, the best lawyers anybody could have. I’m really blessed to have had them. The judges showed a lot of fairness and integrity in their jobs.

“I would like to thank the LP, the Obidients – and all the people who have worked for this mandate and to celebrate with them for the affirmation of this mandate.

“I would also like to reach out to Senator Aduda, there is no victor and there is no vanquished.

“He ran a good race and now that it is over I will reach out to him to work with me to do for the FCT together the things he would have done had he won.”

The senator added that making the FCT great is her goal.