The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said, the Supreme Court has failed Nigerians following its judgement affirming the declaration of President Bola Tinubu as the winner of the February 25, 2023, Presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Hon. Debo Ologunagba in a statement on Thursday said, the party was appalled by the judgment of the apex court.
Ologunagba said, the PDP and indeed majority of Nigerians were alarmed, disappointed, and gravely concerned with the reasoning of the Supreme Court which the PDP believes was 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.
He said, “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”.
The Party’s National Publicity Secretary said,
“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.
“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”, he said,
The judgment by the Supreme Court, according to him, 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 derives its legitimacy from the people”, he said.
