A group under the aegis of the Nasarawa for Peace Initiative (NPI), Thursday, accussed the opposition of resorting to media trial to vent their anger over their loss in the last governorship election in the state.
The group described the move as provocative and undemocratic.
In a statement signed by the President of the group, Abdulkareem Anas Abimuku, and made available to newsmen in Lafia, it condemned what it referred to as “media trial” of a matter, which is already before the governorship election petition tribunal sitting in Lafia.
They specifically referred to a story on the front page of the Nigerian Pilot of June 15, 2023, with the title: “Nasarawa guber manipulated”, attributed to a group under the aegis of the CivicHive.
The story quoted alleged discrepancies in the result of the governorship election uploaded by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on its server and those the commission declared.
According to the initiative, it has no problem with any organisation, sponsored or otherwise, critiquing the process and outcome of the last governorship election, but that the timing of the CivicHive intervention and the manner the Nigerian Pilot handled the story was suspect.
The statement reads in part: “Firstly, where was the so-called CivicHive who claimed to be one of the accredited observers that purportedly monitored elections in Nasarawa state all this while? Why is its report coming many weeks after the declaration of the result?
“And more importantly, why did CivicHive wait until the election petition tribunal commenced hearing of the petition filed by the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and its governorship candidate before coming out with its report
“We have been following the situation regarding the last elections in our dear state, and we can categorically say that we are not happy with the manner the main opposition party has been handling its loss, especially as it concerns the governorship election outcome.
“We must state that its combative approach to the matter is capable of undermining the fragile peace the state and its people are currently enjoying. It started from the day of the coalition, where PDP agents almost truncated the announcement of results at the INEC headquarters in Lafia from the moment it discovered that the poll’s outcome was not in its favour.
“Many thought that after filing its petition at the tribunal, the opposition will allow the justices to do their job, but the PDP again opted to use the media to intimidate the judiciary into coming out with a verdict in its favour by preempting the outcome of the case which is at pre-trial stage.
“It alleged through the media of the supposed plans by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Governor Abdullahi Sule to induce the judges to uphold the outcome of the poll. At every point, it bandied the supposed uploaded result and the one declared to buttress its point, even as it tried needlessly to condemn the poll’s outcome, especially in Lafia, where it lost woefully.
“On this note, we are calling on the tribunal to take cognizance of what’s happening. The respected justices must call the Nigerian Pilot and the supposed election monitoring group, CivicHive, to order in the interest of justice and fairness in the handling of the ongoing case.”