PDP, INEC frustrating our case at Rivers election tribunal ----- APC
(Nigeria) The All Progressives Congress, APC, has described
as deceitful, obstructionist and provocative the petition written to President
Muhammadu Buhari by the 16 Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, federal lawmakers
from Rivers over the State's Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, saying those
who were blatantly obstructing the course of justice were the same ones now
trying to play the victim.
APC in a statement in Abuja on Thursday by its National
Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said that despite the order from the
tribunal, the damnable duo of Rivers PDP and the Independent National Electoral
Commission, INEC, have colluded to ensure that the Rivers APC neither gets the
certified true copies of requested documents nor inspect the electoral
materials used for the governorship poll.
''Because we are a law-abiding party, unlike the anarchists
in the PDP and their flagrant INEC collaborators, we reported this to the
Tribunal, which then said it was not up to it to enforce the order given
earlier. This was why we reported to the security agencies, especially the Police
and the Department of State Services, DSS.
''Even though the Police IG intervened to ensure that the
order of the Tribunal was carried out, the Rivers INEC still refused. This was
why the DSS, seeking to prevent a breakdown of law and order that could result
from the intransigence of the Rivers INEC, now invited the obstructionists to
impress it upon them to carry out the order of the Tribunal. Despite these
efforts, the order has still not been complied with till today,'' it said.
APC also denied that the military was being used to
intimidate anyone, saying the party only subpoenaed the soldiers who played a
major role in the elections not only in Rivers but in the entire Niger Delta
region, in view of the violence unleashed by the PDP on APC supporters before,
during and after the elections.
''Nigerians can now see that there is no truth whatsoever in
the petition written by the intrusive Rivers PDP Senators and House of
Representatives members that the DSS and the military were being used to
obstruct justice. What the petitioners are seeking to do is to pull the wool
over the eyes of Nigerians,'' the party said.
It said it was an open secret that the PDP rigged the
elections not only in Rivers but also in Akwa Ibom, where the party and the
State INEC have also refused to allow the APC to have access to electoral
materials, and where indeed vital documents have been destroyed.
''Knowing fully well that they cooked the figures, and that
their figures cannot hold up in the face of serious scrutiny, the Rivers PDP
has resorted to using all the tricks in the books to delay the proceedings at
the Tribunal, hoping that by so doing, the statutory 180 days we have to prove
our case will expire.
''It was for the same reason that they (Rivers PDP and their
INEC collaborators) tried to goad us to file contempt charges against them for
their refusal to obey the Tribunal's order. They had hoped that by filing such
charges, valuable time would have been wasted,'' APC said.
The party urged the 16 PDP lawmakers to tell their people to
stop constituting an obstacle to the course of justice by allowing the Rivers
APC access to the election materials, instead of writing frivolous petitions
and blaming the victims of their lawlessness.
''The PDP has always been a lawless and anarchic party. This
is why they think others are like them. In pursuing our petition at the
Tribunal, we do not seek any favour beyond what the law prescribes. But we will
not fold our arms and allow anyone to bury us under the ruble of injustice. We
will use all constitutional and legal means to ensure that justice prevails,''
it warned.
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