Atiku Abubakar has hailed the Nigerian judiciary as coming through yet again for the yearnings of the commoners, saying Friday’s decision by the Osun State governorship election petitions tribunal should be seen as phenomenal and a crucial blow to manipulation of elections in Nigeria.
The presidential candidate of PDP at the 2019 elections applauded the judiciary as truly the defender of Nigeria’s democracy, according to a statement by his spokesperson Paul Ibe.
The three-man judicial panel sitting in Abuja on Friday afternoon declared Ademola Adeleke of the PDP winner of the September 2018 governorship election, saying a rerun exercise that the Independent National Electoral Commission oversaw was controversial and illegal.
More details of the two-one split decision were still coming in. The tribunal chairman was the dissenting voice, dismissing the PDP’s petition.
Mr Abubakar swiftly joined a flurry of congratulations directed at Mr Adeleke, noting that the restoration of the stolen mandate of the senator showed that indeed the judiciary is the last refuge of the common man and that in truth, those who were aggrieved and resolved to maintain the peace, have been vindicated.
Mr Abubakar congratulated Mr Adeleke, the PDP and men and women of goodwill in Osun State, who did not waver in their commitment to retrieve the stolen mandate.
“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy has come for the people of Osun,” he said.
The PDP presidential candidate commended the courage of the judiciary and its resilience even in the face of strenuous efforts by the Buhari administration to undermine and intimidate it.
According to the former Vice President, the decision of the judiciary on the Osun governorship election is phenomenal in view of the culture of inconclusive elections by INEC in this season.
The judgment has rekindled hope and confidence that those whose mandate had been tampered with or denied can look forward to justice being done to them.
He urged the judiciary to remain steadfast as the eyes of all Nigerians and indeed the whole world are on them to help ensure that democracy in Nigeria is put on a solid foundation.
Mr Abubakar has challenged the outcome of the 2019 presidential election that returned President Muhammadu Buhari for a second time. He asks the the tribunal to either declare him winner of the election or cancel the election and order a fresh poll.
Source: premium Time
