Benue State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the 2023 Governorship Election, Engr. Titus Uba, have appealed the judgment of the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal in the state which upheld the election of Governor Hyacinth Alia.
In a statement signed by State Publicity Secretary of the party, Bemgba Iortyom, said that the PDP through its team of lawyers is challenging the judgment on sixteen grounds, among which is that the Tribunal erred in law on the issue of its jurisdiction to entertain both petitions.
According to the statement which was made available to newsmen in Makurdi on Wednesday, the PDP said it was also challenging the judgement by the tribunal which held that the ground of the petition was that of pre-election matters.
The party spokesman stated that the PDP and Engr. Uba have faith in the Judiciary and were optimistic that the Appeal court would set aside the judgment of the Tribunal, even as he argued that by sustaining the challenge of the outcome of the governorship election, the party believes it was deepening the culture of democracy and sanitizing the process of leadership recruitment.
Iortyom noted that, “The Tribunal, headed by Justice Ibrahim Mohammed Karaye, on 24th September, 2023, dismissed the petition by PDP and Engr. Uba which challenged the return by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of Governor Hyacinth Alia as winner of the 2023 Gubernatorial election in the state.
“Justice Karaye, who delivered the lead judgment, said that the issues raised by the petitioners were pre-election and ought to have been entertained by the Federal High Court and not the Tribunal.
“PDP through its team of lawyers is before the Court of Appeal challenging the judgment on sixteen grounds notably amongst which are the Tribunal’s error in law on the issue of its jurisdiction to entertain both petitions.
“Our great party and her candidate fault the decision of the Tribunal which held, to the effect, that the ground of the petition was that of pre-election, despite clear and unambiguous statutory provisions and pronouncements of higher courts of record on the matter to the contrary.”
Furthermore, he stated that “The party (PDP) is confident that the petition was established before the Tribunal as the documentary depositions made by Governor Alia’s running mate, Samuel Ode, were forged and that he was not a candidate to the election on the account that his name was not submitted to INEC alongside that of Alia for the election as expressly required by law.
“PDP and Engr. Uba reiterate faith in the Judiciary and remain optimistic that the Appellate court will set aside the judgment of the Tribunal and deliver substantive justice to their petition, in line with the hopes of the people that the Judiciary will always be their last hope.
“By sustaining challenge to the outcome of the 2023 governorship election in Benue State, the party believes it is deepening the culture of democracy and sanitizing the process of leadership recruitment which alone will ensure that its legacy of development in the state is kept alive and improved upon by the right choice of leaders.
“We insist that a government’s sole claim to legitimacy lies in its emergence through the due process prescribed and regulated by the rule of law, outside of which, no one, no matter his assumptions of populism and self righteousness, may lay his hands on the sacred mandate of the people”, the spokesman of the party declared.
