AS the Supreme Court delivers judgment today on the appeals of Chief Timipre Sylva and the All Progressives’ Congress (APC) against the judgments of the Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal, on the election of Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has urged the Justices of the Supreme Court to ignore all pressures and deliver judgment in line with the dictates of the nation’s Constitution, electoral laws and good conscience.
In a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, the party alleged that it was aware that certain people and other senior members of APC “are again putting pressure on justices of the Supreme Court to pervert the course of justice by overturning the decisions of the Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal, and nullify the mandate freely given to Governor Seriake Dickson by the people of Bayelsa State.”
According to the Party, “this judgement comes at a time when the Judiciary is facing an onslaught from the ruling party using the apparatus and instruments of state.
“This judgment will be given in the face of allegations, by Justices of the Supreme Court no less, that senior members of APC and ministers in this administration attempted to bribe judges to subvert the course of justice in similar suits relating to elections in Abia, Akwa Ibom, Ekiti and Rivers states
“We reiterate our belief that the judiciary is the last hope of the common man and the bastion upon which our entire democracy rests. We believe that there are men and women of integrity, with proven track records in the dispensation of justice who ensure that justice is not only done but is also seen to be done.
“We urge the justices of the Supreme Court to ignore this pressure and to give judgment in line with the dictates of our constitution, electoral laws and good conscience.
“In these trying times when the disregard for the rule of law prevails and there is a deliberate disregard for the constitutional rights and freedoms of the Nigerian people, we call on the Judiciary to stand firm against this tyranny.
“It is with this spirit that we reaffirm our position that we will accept the judgment of the Supreme Court in good faith and in the interest of the Nigerian and Bayelsan people.”
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