All Progressive Congress (APC) in Plateau has called on the National Judiciary Council (NJC) to ignore and disregard the petition of the People’s Democratic Party in the state against the judgment of Justice Mohammed Tukur-led National and State Assembly Election Petition Tribunal, which sacked some PDP National and State Assembly lawmakers on the ground of lack of structure.
Plateau State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had petitioned the Chief Justice of Nigeria and Chairman of the National Judicial Council, Justice Kayode Ariwoola, over the judgments delivered by the Justice Mohammed Tukur-led National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Jos.
The party accused the three justices of the panel of deliberate perversion of justice and conspiracy to remove its elected candidates from the legislative houses.
The APC, in a letter titled “RE: Petition Against Justices B.M. Tukur, O.Elekwa, and A.O. Adetujoye by the PDP Plateau Chapter,” signed by its State Secretary, Miskom Fidelis Longban, and Publicity Secretary, Mr. Sylvanus Namang, respectively, to the NJC, said the allegation of deliberate perversion of justice and conspiracy to remove PDP candidates from parliament was unfounded.
It pointed out that, in spite of the fact that Section 285(7) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) provides for an appeal against any unsatisfactory decision of the Tribunal, the PDP has strangely resorted to its usual antics of blackmail through a so-called petition.
“What we can readily decode here from the PDP’s body language is their ploy to unnecessarily harass and cajole the judiciary into doing their bidding as a pre-emptive move against impending verdicts of the Appeal Tribunal. To say the least, this action portrays a deliberate assault on democracy, independence of the judiciary, and the rule of law.
“While we deprecate the use of foul and intemperate language against our judges, in the course of discharging their constitutional mandate, we urge every party, no matter how aggrieved, to always explore the option of seeking redress at the appellate level instead of resorting to blackmail through uncomplimentary and uncharitable remarks against the hallowed temple of justice.”.
It also called for a thorough judgment of the Justice Rita Irele Ifijeh-led Gubernatorial Election Petition Tribunal in less than two hours without going into the merits of the petition by the APC and its gubernatorial candidate, Dr. Nentawe Yilwatda Goshwe.
The APC averred that the party strongly believes in the independence and sanctity of the judiciary to dispense justice justly and fairly, adding that this credence explains why the APC in the state resorted to appealing the judgments delivered against its candidates.
It stated that the petition by the PDP against the eminent jurists against their unassailable judgments was in bad taste and should be discounted for what it really is, in terms of mischief and utter desperation.
READ ALSO FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
and then