PDP, LP condemn Supreme Court ruling affirming Tinubu’s victory

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP) have condemned to the judgement of the Supreme Court affirming the victory of President Bola Tinubu in the February 25 presidential election.

The PDP, in a press statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, expressed its “appall” and “grave concern” over the judgment, which it described as “disappointing” and “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 statement said, “The PDP stated that it 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.

“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.

“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.”

The PDP also lamented that the Supreme Court condoned “the serious issues of forgery, falsehood and perjury on the altar of technicalities.”

“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 party also said.

The PDP urged 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.

On the other hand, the Labour Party, in a statement from its National Chairman, Barrister Julius Abure, called the judgment “another sad day for democracy in Nigeria” and said that it was “very shocked and surprised” that even the apex court would toe the line of an earlier judgment in spite of all the flaws associated with it.

The Labour Party noted that it had conclusively exercised its fundamental rights as gifted to it by the laws of the land, and that it had no other choice but to move on. However, it added that it wept for its institutions that could not rise to the occasion and courageously defend democracy and the voices of its people.

The Labour Party also alleged that it had it on very good authority that the government may have marked some of its key leaders, especially its leader and presidential candidate Mr Peter Obi, for vilification, in order to suppress the party, suffocate its team, and its goal of a new Nigeria. The Labour Party vowed to defend itself against any planned persecution, intimidation, suppression and harassment of its leaders using security agencies and all other government institutions.

Abure said, “We are also calling on the international community to rise to the occasion to defend democracy in Nigeria. Your voices were loud and clear in condemnation of the outcome of the presidential election. As we approach the next stage of our democratic journey, we call on you to stand by the millions of Nigerians who are already pushed beyond their limits into unnecessary hardship and penury.

“Finally, we urge Nigerians not to lose hope in our Country. Though we are paying a huge price to achieve a Nigeria of our desire. We are hopeful that we will get to our destination someday because where there is a will, certainly, there will be a way. A new Nigeria is still possible.”