The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has demanded for a review of the Supreme Court judgment affirming the election of President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2019 presidential election.
The party said it was making the demand following the attitude of the All Progressive Congress (APC), which has applied to the apex court to review its judgments on Zamfara and Bayelsa States.
The National Publicity Secretary of the main opposition party, Kola Ologbondiyan, said at a press conference in Abuja on Monday that the call became necessary because of the ruling party’s conduct over the valid judgments given on the two states.
He accused the ruling party of trying to intimidate the court justices.
Ologbondiyan said the PDP will also now asked for a review of the judgments on Osun, Kano, Katsina and Kaduna States.
In a text titled: “Position of the PDP on the desperation of the APC to subjugate, intimidate for the purpose of annexing the Supreme Court over Imo, Bayelsa and Zamfara governorship election judgments,” he accused the APC of going all out to destabilize the nation and destroy its hard-earned democracy.
The PDP spokesman said the time had come for all Nigerians to stand in unity to defend the nation and salvage it from political marauders and oppressive elements.
According to him, the nation was 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.”
He observed that the public space was already awash with reports of how the APC had 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 APC suffered self-inflicted losses.
He added: “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 destabilize 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 judgments 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 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.
“Our party 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.”