After Governor Abdullahi Sule’s victory affirmation in the 2023 Nasarawa State governorship election, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has urged the Supreme Court to meticulously review the recent Court of Appeal judgment.
Previously, the state’s election petitions tribunal had ousted Sule of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and declared David Ombugadu of the PDP as the election winner on October 2.
However, the appellate court ruled that the tribunal erred in recalculating votes, affirming Sule as the legitimate governor of the state instead of the declared PDP candidate.
During a peaceful protest against this judgment in Lafia, the state capital, Stella Oboshi, the PDP women leader, appealed to the apex court to deeply scrutinize the appellate court’s decision, emphasizing the importance of upholding democratic ideals in Nigeria.
Expressing concern over the judgment’s deviation from democratic principles, Oboshi highlighted worries about the appeal court’s stance, seemingly shielding the Independent National Electoral Commission’s perceived lack of transparency in declaring Sule as the state’s governor.
She pointed out specific irregularities overlooked by the court under the pretext of technicalities. For instance, in the Gayam ward of Lafia Local Government Area, while the accredited voters totaled 13,000, an astonishing 33,000 votes were attributed solely to the APC, raising questions about the integrity of the electoral process.
She added, “Similarly, in the Chiroma ward, the number of accredited voters was documented as 21,000 but INEC announced a staggering 59,000 votes solely for the APC.”
She said it was the responsibility of the judiciary to uphold the principles of justice, fairness, and merit in all its judgments, stressing that in this particular case, the lack of a thorough investigation into the glaring irregularities is an affront to these principles.
”It undermines the trust of the people in the justice system” she insisted.
The PDP chieftain believes it is essential that the judiciary, as a pillar of democracy, does not inadvertently provide a platform for the perpetration of electoral injustice and expressed displeasure over the undue brutalization of some women supporters of the party on Monday by security personnel in the state.
She urged the security agencies to desist from harassing members and supporters of the party while reiterating that they had carried out their protests peacefully.
She said they have been demonstrating peacefully for over six months since the declaration of Governor Abdullahi Sule by INEC as the winner of the March 18 governorship election in the state, pointing out that they have never destroyed anything or shown any act of disobedience to the laws of the country.
The woman leader insisted that who they voted for was not the person INEC announced and wanted justice to prevail but lamented that security agents brutalized some of the women for embarking on a peaceful protest.
She called on security agencies to protect the women and not attack them because their intention for embarking on the peaceful protest was to seek justice and not to foment any form of trouble in the state.
