‘Why PDP wants Supreme Court to review Buhari, 4 govs’ victories, 9 months after’

The National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has threatened to seek review of the Supreme Court’s judgement on the 2019 Presidential Election which validated the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, President Muhammadu Buhari.

Supreme Court had in October dismissed the appeal filed by the presidential candidate of the PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and his party, against the election of President Buhari in the February 23 general election.

PDP’s plan is coming about nine months after the APC’s victory.

The party’s plan to seek review of the judgements on presidential election and four governorship elections was predicated on the APC’s move to allegedly arm-twist the Supreme Court justices for a favourable review of Imo, Bayelsa and Zamfara judgements.

PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, who addressed journalists, Monday in Abuja, claimed that “the All Progressives Congress (APC) is all out to destabilise our nation and destroy our hard-earned democracy. The time has come for all Nigerians to stand in unity to defend our nation and salvage it from political marauders and oppressive elements. 

 “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.”

He further said: “Nigerians know that the APC has been going through a haemorrhage since the Supreme Court delivered valid judgements on Bayelsa and Zamfara and as a result, they are no longer interested in the logic of these judgements. 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. 

 “Moreover, there is a consensus among majority of Nigerians and even the international community that there was obvious miscarriage of justice by the Supreme Court panel on the Imo state governorship election, for which the PDP accordingly reverted to the Supreme Court asking it to correct the manifest mistakes and errors in that judgment, which are already in the public domain. 

“However, the PDP finds 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 judgements on Bayelsa and Zamfara states governorship elections. 

“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 judgement 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 judgement 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 judegments, because of manifest violence and substantial non-compliance to our electoral law. 

“The PDP also asks the Supreme Court to review its judgement on the Osun Governorship election in view of manifest, complete and total disregard to our electoral rules in the conduct of the elections”.

APC slams opposition  

 But the APC in its reaction said the opposition was too idle and had turned itself into a joke in the nation’s political space.  

In a statement signed by the APC spokesperson, Lanre Issa-Onilu, Monday in Abuja, the ruling party said the PDP had become a clog in the wheels of Nigeria’s political evolution.

 The party said: “Never in the history of our democratic journey has a political party made mockery of what a responsible opposition politics entails. The PDP’s call has once again, reinforced our party’s belief that the PDP has become a clog in the wheels of our country’s political evolution.

“For the All Progressives Congress (APC), PDP’s latest antics is no surprise. Nigerians would recall that we have consistently reiterated that the opposition party, having been overwhelmingly rejected at the polls in 2015 and 2019, has been exhibiting strange behaviours. 

“We believe it has been difficult for some leaders of PDP to cope for so long outside of power. There is obviously a lot of idleness at the Wadata House Secretariat of PDP. 

At this period that our government is working hard to ensure food sufficiency in the country, we urge those jobless characters at the Wadata House to seriously consider taking up rice farming. This would make them useful for our country.”

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