Kogi: PDP rejects appeal court verdict, heads to Supreme Court

The Peoples Democratic Party has rejected the Appeal Court judgement upholding the election of Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello.

While rejecting the verdict, the main opposition party expressed shock that the appellate court discountenanced what it referred to as “hard evidence” which showed that the PDP candidate, Musa Wada scored the highest valid votes in the Governorship election held on November 16th, 2019.

This was contained in a statement titled: “Kogi: PDP Confident of Justice at Supreme Court …Shocked that Appeal Court Discountenanced Hard Evidence,” which was signed and issued by the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, in Abuja, on Sunday.

According to the PDP, the judgment of the Court of Appeal in favour of Governor Yahaya Bello does not vitiate or detract from the fact, by hard evidence, that it won the November 16, 2019 Kogi state governorship election.

The party noted with shock that the Appeal Court, in its judgment, decided to discount the merit of the evidence before it, which showed that the PDP candidate, Musa Wada scored the highest valid votes in the said election.

It observed that the judgment of the Appeal Court will be a major setback to our democratic process if left unchallenged, but expressed confidence that justice will be served on the merit of the case by the Supreme Court.

The statement partly read, “Our party holds that discounting of hard evidence of over-voting, massive thumb printing, voter intimidation, thuggery and other irregularities and malpractices used by the APC and compromised INEC officials to manipulate the results of the election would be reviewed at the Supreme Court.

“Justice on any matter is based on the weight of evidence before a court. The failure by the Appeal Court to consider key and essential ingredients of evidence before it on their merit, as already admitted and upheld by a judgment of a preceding court, amounted to a frustration of the course of justice in the matter.

“The PDP restates its insistence that the evidence is clear that its candidate is the genuine choice of the people in the November 16, 2019 election.

“The people of Kogi state now look up to the Supreme Court to reverse this injustice handed over to them, especially, given the evidence laid, as affirmed by the courageous verdict of Justice Ohimai Ovbiagele at the Election Tribunal.”

The main opposition party urged the people of the state not to despair over the judgment of the Appeal Court but to remain calm and prayerful, as justice will definitely be served at the Supreme Court.