🗞️ PDP Condemns APC’s Threats to PEPC as Subversive and Intimidating Judiciary
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has strongly criticized the written address submitted by lawyers representing Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC). The PDP claims that the threats made in the address are a pre-emptive move to intimidate the judiciary.
In a press release signed by Hon. Debo Ologunagba, the PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, the party asserts that the lawyers’ statement in the written address, which threatens crisis and anarchy if the court rules that their clients did not meet the Constitutionally required 25% votes in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), is not only subversive but also an assault on the nation’s democratic order and corporate existence.
The PDP finds it alarming and disturbing that the APC has made their final written address public, in which they also issued threats to national peace in the event that the court upholds the clear provisions of Section 134 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) regarding the mandatory and statutory requirements for a presidential election candidate to be declared the winner.
The party views these threats, whether coming from APC’s counsel or officials, as a calculated attempt to intimidate and harass the judiciary and the Nigerian populace.
According to the PDP, the APC’s clear intent is to blackmail the court and undermine the independence of the judiciary in carrying out its duties in accordance with the law. This action appears to be a premeditated move to incite violent crises across various parts of the country in order to further manipulate the PEPC.
The PDP raises questions about the motives behind the APC’s decision to make their final written address public. They suspect that the APC, realizing the weakness of their case before the PEPC, is now seeking to heighten tension, subvert the judicial process, and instigate anarchy.
However, the PDP emphasizes that Nigeria is a country governed by the rule of law. The party highlights that the statutory requirements for a winner in a presidential election, as provided by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and the Electoral Act, 2022, are clear and unambiguous.
The PDP calls on the APC to respect the provisions of the law and allow the judiciary to independently carry out its duties without resorting to threats, intimidation, and coercion.
Contrary to the doomsday claims made by the APC and its lawyers, the PDP believes that upholding the provisions of the Constitution and the laws at this point will promote peace and stability in the nation, strengthen democracy, and foster confidence in the judiciary as an institution.
The PDP urges Nigerians to remain calm, vigilant, and hopeful in the judiciary’s ability to dispense justice impartially and according to the law.
