The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the Supreme Court verdict affirming the election of Alhaji Yahaya Bello as governor of Kogi, even as one of the challengers, James Faleke said that he is waiting for the full details of the verdict before he takes the next step.
The PDP, which said that it had no choice than to be law abiding, admitted that the Supreme court is the final arbiter on legal issues in Nigeria and as such “we are obligated to accept and abide by this decision.”
The position of the party was contained in a statement issued by its spokesperson, Prince Dayo Adeyeye.
The statement reads in full: “The Supreme Court has today upheld the decision of the Court of Appeal and the Kogi State Election Petition Tribunal validating the election of Alhaji Yahaya Bello as Governor of Kogi State.
“Although we disagree with the judgment of the Supreme Court, we have no choice but to accept and respect it.
“The Supreme Court is the final arbiter on legal issues in Nigeria and as such we are obligated to accept and abide by this decision. Like the Late revered Justice of the Supreme Court – Justice Chukwudifu Akunne Oputa – once said, “the Supreme Court is not final because it is infallible. It is infallible because it is final”. As such we are bound to respect this decision.
“We call on our teeming members and supporters in Kogi State to accept this judgment with equanimity. We urge them to be law abiding in all their activities.
“We will soon begin planning programmes and creating an awareness campaign to ensure that the administration of Alhaji Yahaya Bello, which is known for frittering away the scarce resources of the Kogi people, will not stay a day longer than the period stipulated for its tenure by the Constitution. May God bless Kogi State. May God bless Nigeria.”
But, James Faleke, in a statement by his spokesman, Duro Meseko, said: “we have heard the judgment handed down by the Supreme Court jurists upholding Yahaya Bello as governor. We shall wait for the full text of the judgment to know why they came to that conclusion.
“But let it be stated here that we have no regrets challenging the declaration of our election as inconclusive by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). What we did was to defend the votes cast for Audu/Faleke by the over 240,000 electorates on November 21, 2015.
“The people voted for us as candidates not the APC because they believe in the kind of leadership we offered to provide for them during our campaigns. It would therefore amount to crass betrayal of the trust of the electorate not to have defended their votes till the end.”
This was even as Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi has welcomed the verdict, describing it as a “big honour’’ to democracy in Nigeria.
In a statement shortly after the apex court affirmed him as elected governor of Kogi, he said the judgment would remain a watershed in the annals of electoral jurisprudence and constitutional law in the country.
“It is a long walk to victory which will reshape the nation’s constitution.
“I am humbled and magnanimous in victory; it is a long walk to victory.
“The victory belongs to all Kogi people who believe in transforming Kogi State from a potentially great state to a really great state,’’ the governor said.
In the statement signed his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Kingsley Fanwo, in Lokoja, he advised his supporters to guide against wild jubilations but to use the occasion for sober reflections.
He said that he would pursue his cardinal goals of improving education, healthcare, infrastructural development as well as raising the capacity of the citizens to reinvigorate the state’s economy.
Bello commended the Judiciary for “rising to the occasion by standing firm with what is true and just”.
In its reaction, the state chapter of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), in a statement in Lokoja, described the judgment as a victory for the rule of law.
The Chairman of the group in the state, Mr Taufiq Isa, commended the justices of the Supreme Court for the judgment, saying it had finally settled the contention over the governorship position.
“We are calling on stakeholders in the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state to come together and join hands with the administration of Gov. Yahaya Bello in the interest of the development of Kogi,” he said.
Contacted on the judgment, Mr Jacob Edi, Media Officer to former Gov. Idris Wada, said that his principal had no comment on it.
According to him, Wada is yet to get the details of the Supreme Court decision and will want to tarry a while before making any pronouncement.
The atmosphere of Lokoja before and after the judgment remained peaceful as residents went about their normal activities.
Security personnel had prior to the judgment been deployed to strategic locations in the city to forestall any possible breakdown of law and order.
Heavily armed anti-riot policemen moved about in patrol vans while security was beefed up in and around the Government House and other important public facilities.
The police had on Friday banned all public processions, celebration and unauthorized gatherings in the state as part of measures to prevent lawlessness in anticipation of the Supreme Court judgment. [myad]
