The polity is set to witness fresh tension given the resolution of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to approach the Supreme Court, demanding, among others, a review of the 2019 Presidential election which produced Muhammadu Buhari as the winner.
The party also vowed to approach the apex court to review and possibly reverse the outcome of the governorship elections in Katsina, Kaduna, Osun and Kano states.
Addressing a press conference at the party’s national secretariat, yesterday, National Publicity Secretary of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan, said the leadership of the party took the decision, having uncovered a subtle plot by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to “annex the Supreme Court over Imo, Bayelsa and Zamfara governorship elections.”
The text of the press conference read: “The National Working Committee (NWC) 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 a 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 election.”
Speaking further, the publicity scribe said the country “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 haemorrhage 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 destabilize our nation and destroy our hard-earned democracy, especially the Judiciary. The 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 tribunals, 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 judgments on Bayelsa and Zamfara states governorship elections.”
According to him, the PDP will not fold its hands and “watch enemies of our hard-earned democracy, who contributed nothing to its birth, to continue to appropriate our collective sovereignty for their selfish political gains while destroying our institutions and holding our people to ransom.”
The APC, it would be recalled, recently lost control of the Bayelsa Government House to the PDP following Supreme Court’s disqualification of the former deputy governor, Degi Biobarakuma on account of multiple identities.
However, the ruling party has also approached the apex court seeking the disqualification of the incumbent Deputy Governor, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, for alleged forging of a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Exemption Certificate.