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8 July 2009 Abuja — The Buhari Campaign
Organisation(TBO) has accused Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) of unleashing tyranny on Nigerians.
In a press statement made available to THISDAY
yesterday in Abuja, TBO noted that the party is using
security agents to harass citizens, particularly in
Bauchi State. "About 10 days to (Yuguda's decampment)
security agencies in Bauchi State, led by the Police,
started mopping up and arresting innocent citizens in
a wholesome crackdown," the statement said.
The group also accused PDP of engaging in violence,
killing and detaining people unlawfully, saying "the
other day, security agents opened fire on peaceful
demonstrators at Zaria, protesting against epileptic
power supply, killing four, injuring several and
arresting 63."
The statement, signed by Buba Gadadima, noted the
continuous harassment of citizens is a grand plan
ahead of 2011 elections, and urged the people to stand
up for their rights.
"This is fascism and dictatorship of the highest
order, PDP is also testing waters for what is in store
for us in 2011, Nigerians must stand up for their
rights, because today, it's the ordinary man in Zaria,
tomorrow it might be me or you."
Appeal Court Sacks Ekiti PDP Senator, Kila
Meanwhile, two years on, the Court of Appeal in
Ilorin on Tuesday quashed the election of Adefemi Kila
as the Senator representing Ekiti Central Senatorial
District and declared Ola Festus Bode as winner of the
ballot held in April 2007.
Kila is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Bode belongs to the Action Congress (AC).
The court gave victory to Bode after deducting
invalid votes from those initially credited to Kila by
the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
That left Kila with 19,653 votes, with Bode
coasting home with 38,563, upturning the verdict of
the tribunal which had upheld the election of Kila.
Bode had argued at the tribunal that the votes the
INEC credited to Kila were inflated by about 19,000.
The physical counting of the vote cards had
revealed that about 19,000 of such possessed the same
serial number.
However, the tribunal affirmed the election of Kila,
citing technicality for not considering the grounds of
Bode's petition .
But the Court of Appeal averred that the era of
technicalities is over.
The lead judgment delivered by Justice Sotonye
Denton-West said since the evidence was not challenged
at the tribunal "it is an acceptance that the evidence
was not controverted.
"After subtracting the valid votes from the invalid
ones, (Bode) has a majority lawful votes. And based on
these majority lawful votes, (he) is so declared as
the winner of the election."
Hundreds of AC supporters took to the streets in
Ado Ekiti after the verdict,
singing praises to glorify God for rekindling their
hope in the fight for justice.
AC Governorship candidate, Kayode Fayemi, described
it as sign of good things to come.
Fayemi, currently warming up for another round of
legal battle with Governor Segun Oni, said the
judgment demonstrates that the AC is always be on the
side of truth.
But state PDP Director of Communication and
Strategy, Jackson Adebayo, criticised the ruling as "a
mistake carried to the opportunists' door step."
He said the AC has stolen a genuine mandate.
Fayemi's reaction came after he addressed the
women's wing of the party after its weekly prayer
meeting at the AC secretariat.
He was accompanied by state AC Chairman, Jide Awe,
and other members, including former Governor of old
Ondo State, Bamidele Olumilua.
"Truth will always prevail over falshood. We stand
by the truth and shall reap goodness. The PDP people
are poll riggers. This is just the beginning of the
end of the PDP (which) will soon become extinct in
this state," Fayemi declared.
Awe added that "this judgment showed the real thing
that happened during the election in 2007. The AC
actually won and the PDP rigged the election, but now,
the truth has triumphed over darkness."
He said the PDP is not happy because a member of
the AC would become Senator, but "the will of the
people has to be respected and not the will of the
powers that be. The PDP, which knows how to rig, will
continue to reap the consequence of fraud, while the
AC will continue to rejoice."
However, Adebayo said the judgment came to the PDP
as a surprise because there was no cause for it.
His words: "Till the present moment there is no AC
member who can boast of the victory of his party in
the 2007 National Assembly poll because they did not
participate fully in the election."
"(Nonetheless), as believers in the rule of law and
an advocate of respect for the judiciary we have no
option, even in the face of our reservations about the
judgment, than to accept the ruling."
But All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) National
Chairman, Victor Umeh, did not hold back in his
reaction, commending the court for nullifying the
election rather than order a re-run, "which would have
gone in favour of the PDP as usual. It is good thing
that the Court of Appeal provided substantial justice
to the (AC), and we urge the courts to continue in the
same manner.
"Re-run elections have never produced anything
different from the previous ones as the INEC always
ensures the PDP wins every such election, as witnessed
in the last Ekiti Governorship re-run.
"If the court had just returned Fayemi as the
winner instead of ordering a re-run, it would have
saved Nigeria the unwholesome embarrassment the re-run
brought our country in the international community."
AC National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed,
described the verdict as a sweet reward for
perseverance and doggedness.
He commend the judiciary "for always being there
these past two years. We make bold to say this arm of
government has done more than any other arm to advance
the cause of democracy.
"We have no doubt that this judgment will serve as
a strong warning to all those vote thieves who may be
waiting to repeat the shenanigans of the 2007 general
election in 2011 and beyond."
EsinIslam.Com
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