The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has demanded a review of the Supreme Court judgments on the presidential election that affirmed President Muhammadu Buhari’s victory in the 2019 presidential election.
Similarly, the party is also asking a review of the apex court’s judgment in respect of governorship elections in Kaduna, Kano, Katsina and Osun states, which the party lost to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
At a media briefing in Abuja on Monday, the spokesman for the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, predicated the party’s demand on the moves being made by APC, seeking a review of the apex court’s judgment on governorship elections in Zamfara and Bayelsa states which the PDP won.
“Consequently, the National Working Committee of the PDP, after comprehensive consultations, states that our party has no choice left, given the manner with which the APC has conducted itself, than to ask for a review of the judgment of the presidential election petition tribunal, where the issue of certificate forgery and or presentation of false information in aid of qualifications was clearly established against the APC and her presidential candidate.
“The same applies to the judgment on the Katsina governorship election petition, where lawyers also established similar issue of certificate forgery.
“The PDP equally has no choice than to ask the Supreme Court to review the Kano, Kaduna and Katsina election judgments, because of manifest violence and substantial non-compliance to our electoral law.
“The PDP also asks the Supreme Court to review its judgment on the Osun Governorship election in view of manifest, complete and total disregard to our electoral rules in the conduct of the elections,” Ologbondiyan said.
The main opposition party accused the APC of desperate attempts to subjugate and intimidate the Supreme Court, for the purpose of annexing the apex court over its judgments on Imo, Bayelsa and Zamfara governorship elections – all delivered in favour of the PDP.
The PDP called the attention to what it described as attempts by the APC to “destabilise our nation and destroy our hard-earned democracy”.
It added that the time has come for Nigerians to stand in unity to defend the nation and salvage it from political marauders and oppressive elements.
Ologbondiyan further stated: “Our nation is already aware of the desperation by the APC to annex the Supreme Court, subjugate and browbeat the justices and direct judicial determinations to suit their selfish ends.
“The public space is already awash with reports of how the APC has been threatening and piling pressure on the justices of the Supreme Court to force a reversal of valid judgments already delivered on the Bayelsa and Zamfara governorship elections, where the party (APC) suffered self-inflicted losses.
“Nigerians know that the APC has been going through a hemorrhage since the Supreme Court delivered valid judgments on Bayelsa and Zamfara and as a result, they are no longer interested in the logic of these judgments.
“They have since thrown caution to the wind to destabilise our nation and destroy our hard-earned democracy, especially the judiciary. The APC federal government is leading all forms of battles against the rule of law and constitutionalism.
“The PDP holds that our sacrifices for the sustenance of democracy, as demonstrated in our patriotic comportment towards the verdicts of the court on the presidential election as well as Osun, Kano, Katsina and Kaduna governorship elections tribunal, subsist”.
The party claimed that there was a consensus among majority of Nigerians and even the international community, that there was obvious miscarriage of justice by the apex court panel on the Imo state governorship election.
The PDP had already approached the Supreme Court seeking a review and reversal of the court’s judgment on the Imo governorship election, in view of the “manifest mistakes and errors” in that judgment.
The party considered it ludicrous, ridiculous and insulting to the sensibilities and respect of the Supreme Court Justices for the APC to “hurriedly and malevolently” head to the Supreme Court to attempt to “arm twist” the lord justices to effect a forceful reversal of the “valid, flawless and faultless” judgments on Bayelsa and Zamfara states governorship elections.
The PDP vowed not to fold its hands and watch “enemies of our hard-earned democracy, who contributed nothing to its birth,” to continue to appropriate the nation’s collective sovereignty for selfish political gains while destroying the institutions and holding the people to ransom.”
Credit: The Nation
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