After four months of legal fireworks at the presidential election tribunal, the tribunal today ruled that president Muhammadu Buhari was duly elected on February the 23rd, 2019 for another term in office.
At a ruling which lasted over eight hours, the chairman of the presidential election petition tribunal, Justice Muhammad Garba dismissed all the petitions filed by the peoples democratic party(pdp) and its candidate, Atiku Abubakar in its entirety.
The court room was filled to capacity with representatives of the main parties in the suit, some governors of the all progressives congress as well as serving ministers.
Some of the highlights of the Judgement include:
· the tribunal ruled that President Muhammadu Buhari is eminently qualified to contest the 2019 election
· the tribunal dismissed APC’s claims that Atiku Abubakar is a Cameroonian and not qualified to contest the election.
· the tribunal denied INEC’s request to strike out some of PDP’s witnesses
· the tribunal dismissed claims that president Muhammadu Buhari induced voters through the Tradermoni scheme
· the tribunal dismissed the PDP candidate’s motion indicting security operatives
But the peoples democratic party (pdp) says it is rejecting the judgment of the tribunal, describing it as provocative, barefaced subversion of justice and direct assault on the integrity of the country’s justice system.
The party says it is particularly shocked that the tribunal failed to point to justice despite what it claims are flawless evidence laid before it, which it said showed that president buhari was not only unqualified to contest the election but also did not score the majority of valid votes at the polls.
The party says quote “the PDP finds as bewildering that a court of law could validate a clear case of perjury and declaration of false information in a sworn affidavit, as firmly established against president Muhammadu Buhari, even in the face of incontrovertible evidence. the party is also rudely shocked that the court took over the roles of
the respondents’ lawyers who clearly abandoned their pleadings by refusing to call evidence in defense of the petition”. end of quote.
The PDP is also asking Nigerians to remain calm and not to lose hope or surrender to despondency or self-help, as the party’s lawyers are upbeat in obtaining justice at the supreme court.
