Ladies in PR, a group of young female communicators, has congratulated Honourable Rukayat Motunrayo Shittu (RMS) on her victory at the Court of Appeal.
The court upturned the judgement of the tribunal on the election of the 26-year-old candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), representing Owode/Onire in the Kwara State House of Assembly.
Her election was disputed by Magaji Abdullahi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The tribunal sitting in Ilorin had cancelled the results in five polling units and ordered a rerun, a decision Shittu appealed.
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This week, the appellate court sitting in Abuja upturned the ruling and declared she was legitimately elected.
At a reception at the PRNigeria Centre in Abuja, the Ladies in PR hailed the judiciary for upholding the truth, stressing that the affirmation of the election confirmed that the majority of Shittu’s constituents are with her.
A member, Kubura Garba Yusuf said the victory was a vindication of emerging female power in the country’s democracy, adding that the “well-thought-out” judgement will add value to the electoral jurisprudence going forward.
“We congratulate Hon. Rukayat, young Nigerians and all aspiring female politicians. It is not a victory for her or the party alone, it is a victory for gender-balancing, not-too-young-to-run advocacy as well as the rule of law.
“It is also a vote of confidence in the process that led to her election as the youngest female politician in the current dispensation. The judgment reaffirmed the will of the people and is a judicial sustenance of the mandate given to the clear winner of poll,” Yusuf added.
Shittu said: “I am grateful to the Almighty God. It has been a long and challenging journey, but I am thankful for the support of my constituents and my party. I persevered through five gruelling court cases since emerging as the APC candidate in June 2022. In the pre-election matter, I went from High Court to Appeal Court and Supreme Court.
“Similarly, in the post-election matter, I have gone from the tribunal to the Appeal Court where gave me the final victory. I urge my opponents to join me in embracing governance and setting aside political divisiveness. We must unite to serve the best interests of our constituency.
“During my three months in office, I have initiated several impactful initiatives. We are committed to empowering and advocating for our constituents. In a short time, we have distributed educational materials and sanitary pads to girls within our constituency.
“We have also provided cash donations to alleviate the burden of fuel subsidy removal, easing the hardship on our people. Just as President Bola Tinubu is leading the way in this regard, we are committed to complementing his efforts at the local level.
“I have several bills in the works; this judgement will allow me to focus more on their development. I will propose a bill to regulate drug abuse on social media. We are also exploring ways for the state government to harness domestic electricity production to generate energy locally,” she said.
PRNigeria and Politics Digest Publisher, Yushau A. Shuaib, commended Hon. Shittu’s determination and perseverance throughout the legal process. He described her as an inspiration to young women aspiring to join politics.
Shittu was declared the winner of Owode/Onire constituency of Asa Local Government Area in Kwara on March 19 by the Returning Officer, Professor Hakeem Ijaya, after scoring 7,521 votes to defeat Magaji of the PDP, who got 6,957 votes.
Shittu, one of the youngest lawmakers in the nation’s history, is a former Senate President of the Congress of Students at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). She hails from Manyan village in Onire district of Asa LGA in Kwara State.
