The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Saturday awarded certificates of return to 16 Plateau State House of Assembly members-elect.
The members-elect were declared the winners of the March 18 elections after the Court of Appeal overturned INEC’s election results.
News24 Nigeria reports that 15 of the 16 members-elect were members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), while one was a member of the Labour Party.
Dr. Oliver Agundu, Plateau INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), stated that the exercise was carried out in accordance with the Appeal Court’s directions.
The Appeal Court, according to Agundu, has directed the commission to give certificates of return to the MPs as the rightful winners of the elections.
The REC congratulated the lawmakers-elect on their accomplishment and wished them luck as they prepared to serve the state.
According to Chief Rufus Bature, APC State Chairman, the Appeal Court ruling boosted the election process and deepened Nigeria’s democracy.
Bature warned parliamentarians against making fun of other political parties in the state and encouraged them to be gracious in triumph.
“The interests of Plateau will always remain the top priority. We are looking at democracy as being about ourselves and not about ourselves.
“My charge to the members is that we should look at Plateau as our starting point in whatever we are going to do,” he said.
The Member-elect for Jos North West, Mr Sunday Naah, said that he was conscious of the high expectations of citizens and pledged to give his all to the growth of not only his constituency but the state at large.
Naah assured his constituents that he would make quality laws with a view to alleviating the sufferings of the people of Jos North West Constituency.