Following the judgement of the Election Petitions Tribunal, which affirmed the election of Yahaya Bello as the duly elected Governor of Kogi State, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has vowed not to relent until it reclaims the mandate at the Appeal Court.
The PDP said its candidate, Musa Wada won the November 2019 guber polls in the state.
The party said the tribunal judgement was “an alarming miscarriage of justice, particularly as the PDP and its candidate, Engr. Musa Wada, laid incontrovertible proofs of electoral manipulations by Governor Yahaya Bello and the All Progressives Congress (APC).”
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It added that this was affirmed by Justice Ohimai Ovbiagele in his landmark dissenting judgment.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, the party said it presented “incontestable evidence of over-voting, massive thumb printing, voter intimidation, thuggery, violence and other malpractices used by the APC and compromised Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials to rob our candidate and the people of Kogi state of their mandate.”
The major opposition party in the country claimed that the people of Kogi State and Nigerians were dissapointed that inspite of the overwhelming evidence before the tribunal, “proving that Governor Yahaya Bello did not win the election, justice was thwarted”
“In fact, the lull and despondency that have enveloped Kogi state since the tribunal’s flawed verdict is an indication that the judgment failed to uphold justice in the genuine aspiration of the people of Kogi state in the election,” the statement reads briefly.
“The fact remains that the evidences are clear that our candidate is the genuine choice of the people and our party is confident that the Court of Appeal will uphold justice in this matter.
“The people of Kogi state now look up to the Appeal Court to reverse this injustice endorsed by the tribunal, given the evidence laid, as affirmed by the courageous verdict of Justice Ohimai.
“The PDP commends Justice Ohimai for his fearlessness in upholding the truth and showing that there is hope in the institution of the judiciary, which our party is confident, will be further established by the Appeal Court in this matter.”
Furthermore, the statement expressed optimism that the appellate court will address the substance of the case, which the tribunal overlooked in rendering its defective judgment.
It added that the people of the state deserve a government “elected by them and not one imposed by enemies of democracy and compromised officials at INEC.”
It called on the people of the state not to loss over the judgement, assuring that justice will definitely be done at the appeal court.