The Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has rejected the judgement of the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC), affirming the election of President Bola Tinubu. Atiku said the judgement “is bereft of substantial justice.”
He said he has asked his lawyers to appeal the judgement.
Atiku stated this at a news conference in Abuja on Thursday.
“Gentlemen of the press, I take great pains to tell you that the decision of the court of first instance on this matter utterly falls far short of that expectation. I am therefore here to tell you that, though the judgment of the court yesterday is respected, it is a judgment that I refuse to accept. I refuse to accept the judgment because I believe that it is bereft of substantial justice. However, the disappointment in the verdict of the court can never destroy my confidence in the judiciary.
“Consequently, I have asked my lawyers to activate my constitutionally guaranteed rights of appeal to the higher court, which, in the instance, is the Supreme Court. It is my conviction that the electoral process in Nigeria should be devoid of untidy manipulations and that the outcome of every election should be a perfect reflection of the wishes of the electorate.
“I believe that such is the only way through which our democracy can have a manifest expression of its true meaning. Whether I prevail in this quest or not, the record of my effort in ensuring an order of credible elections in Nigeria shall remain for the future generations to evaluate,” the former vice president said.
Atiku and his Labour Party (LP) counterpart, Peter Obi, as well as the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) had filed petitions challenging the victory of Mr Tinubu of the APC in the 25 February presidential election.
The court dismissed the petitions on Wednesday.
culled from Premium Times Nigeria
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