Why PDP pushed for review of Buhari’s election judgment

Recently, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) threatened to seek a review of the Supreme Court judgment affirming President Muhammadu Buhari’s election, as well as those of Osun, Kano and Katsina states. LEON USIGBE writes on what motivated the main opposition party. 

WAS it an act of pure mischief when the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) demanded for a review of the Supreme Court judgment affirming President Muhammadu 2019 election? Some people think so. But the party believed that it had a point to make.

The main opposition party may not have meant what it threatened, but it would argue that it forced into it because of the attitude of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in trivialising the apex court’s judgments on gubernatorial election cases.

The APC approached the court for a review of the judgment conforming its ouster in the Zamfara State 2019 elections. That judgment was anchored on the flawed primaries conducted by the party similar to that of Rivers state. The PDP approached the court for a review of the judgment on Imo state gubernatorial election, which voided the election of former Governor EmekaIhedioha. While the APC wanted to argue before the court that it had a valid primary election, the PDP was convinced that the Imo judgment could not stand because it was a nullity as the party was of the view that the court was misled into arriving at that judgment by political jobbers.

The PDP did not appear perturbed over the Zamfara request until the APC added Bayelsa state following the court’s decision to nullify the election of its governorship candidate, David Lyon, over the contradictions in the nomination documents submitted by his running mate, Degi-EremienyoBiobarakuma.  The PDP saw that as an attempt to arm-twist the Supreme Court to overturn validly delivered judgments. Its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, said the request was based on “the desperation by the APC to annex the Supreme Court, subjugate and browbeat the justices and direct judicial determinations to suit their selfish ends.”

The APC’s problem with the Supreme Court’s judgment on Zamfara appeared to have stemmed from the series of protests embarked upon by the PDP over the court’s judgment sacking Ihedioha. According to the immediate-past governor of the state, AbdulazizYari, “we have heard that the National Chairman of the PDP (UcheSecondus) staged a protest to the US Embassy. We also decided to be there too as the APC with some national leaders to tell the US that what PDP is complaining in Imo we got a more painful one in Zamfara. The apex court decided to award our gains to the PDP which has never happened before. We are also seeking the apex court to review this judgment because it is purely injustice to us.”

As for Bayelsa, the APC wanted the Supreme Court to set aside portions of its judgment where it declared that the disqualification of the party’s deputy governorship candidate had vitiated the party’s ticket, rendering both the candidate and his running mate unqualified to contest the election. The APC also wanted the court to set aside its order directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to declare the candidates of the PDP as winners with the highest number of lawful votes and spread. However, the PDP had questioned the grounds for the APC’s requests and had sought to convince Nigerians that the ruling party only wanted to intimidate the justices of the apex court. “Nigerians know that the APC has been going through a hemorrhage since the Supreme Court delivered valid judgments on Bayelsa and Zamfara and as a result, they are no longer interested in the logic of these judgments. They have since thrown caution to the wind to destabilize our nation and destroy our hard-earned democracy especially the judiciary. The APC federal government is leading all forms of battles against the rule of law and constitutionalism.”

The PDP, which hitherto, seemed to have taken other Supreme Court’s pronouncements in its strides, made a detour, announcing its intention to now seek a review of not just the judgment on the presidential election, but also that of Osun, Kano, Katsina and Kaduna governorship elections. Its statement confirmed that it wanted to let sleeping did lie: “The PDP holds that our sacrifices for the sustenance of democracy, as demonstrated in our patriotic comportment towards the verdicts of the court on the presidential election as well as Osun, Kano, Katsina and Kaduna governorship elections tribunal, subsist.

Observers agree that the PDP was not interested in seeking a review of the judgments except that of Imo, which it saw as a miscarriage of justice. As far as Imo was concerned, its reversion to the Supreme Court was, “to correct the manifest mistakes and errors in that judgment, which are already in the public domain.” But the PDP saw APC’s push for the review of the Zamfara and Bayelsa judgments as an attempt to thwart its chances over Imo. The party’s declaration of intent to seek judgments review in the presidential, Osun, Kano, Katsina and Kaduna governorship elections was, therefore, not because it desperately wanted to have the states or that it felt it had a reasonable chance of victory, but just to spite the APC.