PDP berates Supreme Court, says it fails Nigerians yet again
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
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“Nigerians are still at a loss as to how the Supreme Court condoned the serious issues of forgery, falsehood and perjury on the altar of technicalities” – PDP
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Nigerians have yet again been let down by the Supreme Court through its judgment on Thursday that affirmed the election of President Bola Tinubu as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and upheld by the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has lamented.
The Supreme Court dismissed for lacking merit, the appeals of Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), adopting mainly legal technicalities laid down by the PEPC.
For example, the top court used technicalities to refuse to admit or examine the truth or otherwise of the evidence Atiku presented on two key issues, either of which would have disqualified Tinubu if proven – dual citizenship and certificate forgery.
At the request of Atiku, Chicago State University (CSU) produced Tinubu’s academic records as well as a deposition accompanied with documents, which are now in the public domain, but which the Supreme Court declined to examine.
The Supreme Court disappointed Nigerians and “thrashed” their expectation, PDP National Publicity Secretary Debo Ologunagba said in a statement, citing how the court condoned “serious issues of forgery, falsehood and perjury on the altar of technicalities.
“The PDP and indeed majority of Nigerians are alarmed, disappointed and gravely concerned with the reasoning of the Supreme Court which the PDP believes is against the express provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the Electoral Act, 2022, the Guideline and Regulation issued by INEC under which the election was conducted.
“The PDP asserts that it is indeed a sad commentary for our democracy that the Supreme Court failed to uphold the provisions of the law. Instead, it trashed the expectation of majority of Nigerians who looked up to it as a Temple of Impartiality to deliver substantial justice in the matter having regards to the laws and facts of the case.”
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Supreme Court fails to uphold Constitution, PDP says
“Nigerians earnestly expected the Supreme Court to uphold and defend the clear provisions of the 1999 Constitution in terms of qualification and minimum requirement for a winner to be declared in a Presidential election in Nigeria especially with regards to the required statutory 25% of votes in the FCT as well as issues of violation of electoral Rules and Guidelines, brazen manipulations and alterations of election results by the APC,” Ologunagba added, per The Nation.
“Nigerians are still at a loss as to how the Supreme Court condoned the serious issues of forgery, falsehood and perjury on the altar of technicalities.
“The general gloom, melancholy and sense of despondency across the country upon the delivery of the judgment is an ominous sign of eerie situation which portend grave consequences because of the disappointment embedded in the judgment.
“This judgment by the Supreme Court has evidently shaken the confidence of Nigerians in the judiciary, especially the Supreme Court as the last hope of the common man.
“The PDP remains undeterred and charges Nigerians not to be discouraged or allow the judgment to detract from their collective quest for the entrenchment of a credible electoral system that can guarantee a government that truly derive its legitimacy from the people.”