Presidential Election Petition Tribunal ruling, victory for rule of law ― APC

Basking in the euphoria of its victory at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has described the unanimous judgment the five-man panel as a victory for the rule of law.

The party’s national publicity secretary, Mallam Lanre Isa-Onilu in a statement on Wednesday night said the judgment “validates the decision of most Nigerians to do away with the past as expressed in their overwhelming votes in the 2019 elections.”

He further said the victory at the Tribunal would encourage the party to remain determined in addressing the pressing challenges confronting Nigerians.

The statement read in part: “The All Progressives Congress (APC) hails the judgement of the 2019 Presidential Election Petition Tribunal dismissing in its entirety the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

“With today’s legal affirmation of President Muhammadu Buhari’s election victory, the APC congratulates the President; the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo SAN, all members of our great party and, indeed, all well-meaning Nigerians on this landmark judgment.

“The APC congratulates the Judiciary for refusing to succumb to the opposition party’s subterfuge. We note the painstaking efforts and thoroughness of the Justices of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal in arriving at their decision. Today’s judgment, no doubt, would go down in the annals of our nation as the longest and detailed, spanning almost 10 hours.

“The Judgement by the five-member validates the decision of most Nigerians to do away with the past as expressed in their overwhelming votes in the 2019 elections.

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“The PDP and Atiku’s petition was largely hinged on the educational qualification of President Muhammadu Buhari and tales of an Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) server and allegations of electronic transmission of election results. This was rightly dismissed by the Tribunal for lacking in merit.

“From the outset, our party was not perturbed over the PDP and Atiku’s petition, which will go down in Nigeria’s history as the most frivolous in the history of Election Petition. In fact, our position has now been justified that the PDP and Atiku’s petition was a complete waste of time. In their puerile efforts, they insisted on taking the country on a circus and wild goose chase.

“Going forward, APC’s victory at the presidential polls and the election tribunal represents our collective desire as a people to remain focus on the progressive growth and development of our country’s economy, fight against corruption, and providing security.

“Consequently, we have taken a bold step by rescuing our nation from the satanic era of PDP, when our collective interests were being corruptly traded among a few pillagers.

“We note, unfortunately, the continuous efforts being made by the unpatriotic elements in PDP, having held our country down for nearly two decades, to truncate our movement towards greatness.

“We, however, remain resolute in this journey being ably led by President Muhammadu Buhari. The APC administration would lead this country to the fulfilment of its destiny.”