APC denies offering N10b bribe, in riposte to NNPP allegation
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Judge Flora Azinge’s allegation of being offered a N10 billion bribe by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) to pervert justice in petitions before the Kano Election Petition Tribunal has nothing to do with us, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has clarified.
Azinge, the Chairman of the tribunal, made the allegation in open court on Tuesday and it was picked up by the Kano government to point accusing fingers at the APC.
Kano is ruled by the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), whose candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, lost the presidential election to Bola Tinubu of the APC in February.
The APC warned the NNPP not to drag it into the bribe cesspit because of its apparent poor defence at the tribunal where the APC is challenging the election of Governor Abba Yusuf of the NNPP.
“When … Azinge made the revelation on the alleged attempt to bribe a member of the tribunal by a senior lawyer, she never named any particular party,” insisted Muhammad Garba, a chieftain of the state APC and former Information and Internal Affairs Commissioner.
“The action of the Kano State government is nothing but gimmickry and an attempt to also disparage the APC.”
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NNPP ‘denigrates APC’ to ‘preempt’ tribunal judgement
Garba, who is also Spokesperson for Gawuna/Gari Campaign Council, said the NNPP administration referred to the APC as the bribe giver in order to denigrate the APC, per The PUNCH.
He accused the NNPP of “also preempting the possible unravelling of the actual bribe giver by the tribunal and therefore wanted to malign the Judge.”
In his view, the allegation made by Kano Information Commissioner Baba Dantiye shows the government is trying to vilify the tribunal before the judgment to draw public sympathy in case the NNPP suffers defeat.
“To also further confirm how perplexed they are, they filed an appeal while the tribunal is still holding its proceedings, saying however that their action will not stop the election petition tribunal from going on with its sittings until it delivers final judgement.
“Even with an apparent sign of victory on its side, the APC has not and will never offer any bribe to anyone involved in the case considering that it has presented facts and figures to prosecute the matter before the tribunal.”
Garba said while the APC presented all its witnesses who were successfully cross-examined at the tribunal, the NNPP failed to present any tangible witness to press its case.
He reaffirmed the commitment of the APC to patiently continue seeking legal redress as it is confident it would eventually reclaim its “stolen mandate” in Kano.
