Supreme Court judgement disappointing, ominous – PDP

The Peoples Democratic Party, also known as the PDP, has expressed dissatisfaction with the decision of the Supreme Court to uphold President Bola Tinubu’s victory in the 2023 presidential election.

Debo Ologunagba, who serves as the National Publicity Secretary for the PDP, said that the ruling handed down by the supreme court was shocking and disheartening to Nigerians.

According to Ologunagba, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the majority of Nigerians are “alarmed, disappointed, and gravely concerned” about the reasoning of the Supreme Court, which the PDP believes is against the express provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the Electoral Act, 2022, and the Guideline and Regulation issued by INEC under which the election was conducted.

Ologunagba made these statements.

The statement that the party spokesman signed asserted that it was a sad commentary for Nigeria’s democracy that the Supreme Court failed to uphold the provisions of the law, adding that “instead, it trashed the expectation of majority of Nigerians who looked up to it as a Temple of Impartiality to deliver substantial justice in the matter having regards to the laws and facts of the case.” The statement was included in a document that the party spokesman had signed.

In the words of Ologunagba, “Nigerians earnestly expected the Supreme Court to uphold and defend the clear provisions of the 1999 Constitution in terms of qualification and minimum requirement for a winner to be declared in a Presidential election in Nigeria especially with regards to the required statutory 25% of votes in the FCT as well as issues of violation of electoral Rules and Guidelines, brazen manipulations, and alterations of election results by the APC.”

“To this day, Nigerians do not understand how the Supreme Court could put a higher value on procedural correctness than the terrible crimes of forgery, deceit, and perjury that were committed.

“The general gloom, melancholy, and sense of despondency across the country upon the delivery of the judgment is an ominous sign of eerie situation which portend grave consequences because of the disappointment embedded in the judgment,” said the judge. “The general gloom, melancholy, and sense of despondency across the country upon the delivery of the judgment.”

“It is obvious that this verdict handed down by the Supreme Court has damaged the trust of Nigerians in the judicial system, particularly in the Supreme Court, which is seen as the final hope of the common man.

“The PDP remains undeterred and charges Nigerians not to be discouraged or allow the judgment to detract from their collective quest for the establishment of a credible electoral system that can guarantee a government that truly derives its legitimacy from the people,” says a statement released by the party. “The PDP remains undeterred and charges Nigerians not to be discouraged or allow the judgment to detract from their collective quest.”