The All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of undue hysteria over the ruling party’s return to the Supreme Court on the Zamfara judgement.
Nigerian Tribune reports that the apex court had earlier pronounced APC as ineligible to field candidates in the last general elections based on its invalid primary.
The Supreme Court had since voided the APC mandate with PDP the second runner up as ultimate beneficiary.
The APC returned to the apex court asking it to vary its judgement on Zamfara State.
The ruling party in a statement issued on Sunday night accused the PDP of desperation to preempt the Supreme Court ruling on Zamfara State.
It further accused the main opposition party of ”deploying blackmail and intimidation of state institutions as a strategy to circumvent or derail processes and procedures that are at variance with any of its inordinate interests.”
The statement signed by Lanre Isa-Onilu read in part: ”The Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) declaration that the Supreme Court has no option than to dismiss the pending application by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to review its judgment on the Zamfara State governorship election matter amounts to yet another effort by the opposition party to intimidate the apex court.
”This is criminal and irresponsible for a party that had once run the country for an uninterrupted period of 16 years. Being voted out of power for maladministration should not make the PDP to seek to bring the country down by taking actions or making statements that are targeted at undermining a critical state institution like the judiciary.
”PDP has unfortunately come to be known for deploying blackmail and intimidation of state institutions as a strategy to circumvent or derail processes and procedures that are at variance with any of its inordinate interests.
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”Unfortunately, they have failed woefully on the Zamfara matter, even as we reiterate that PDP is not a party to our intra-party matter before the Supreme Court.
”There is a world of difference between the Supreme Court review sought on the Zamfara matter and the matters that the Supreme Court dismissed regarding Imo and Bayelsa States.
”Unlike what happened in Bayelsa and Imo, in Zamfara, the Supreme Court is not being requested to review its decision. Far from it. The unique thing about Zamfara’s case at the Supreme Court is that the APC is not attacking the judgement of their Lordships but only praying that they vary their consequential order for the purpose of justice. That is where the PDP, who not being a party in the matter, is scared as it found itself to have immensely benefitted from our intra-party squabbles, by reaping where they never sowed.
”The Supreme Court had earlier affirmed that it has the powers to review its own decisions and that it is not averse to correcting error when that is noticed or when it is brought to its attention.
”We call on the Supreme Court to focus on dispensing justice in the case of Zamfara State as well as other matters before it and ignore the irresponsible ranting of the PDP.”
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