PDP Govs Bank On Supreme Court To Restore Mutfwang, Lawal
BY SEGUN ADEBAYO – Governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have described as ‘temporary setbacks’ the Court of Appeal rulings that sacked Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State and his Zamfara State counterpart, Governor Dauda Lawal.
Accordingly, the opposition party governors believe that the Supreme Court will do justice and remedy the wrong inflicted on their colleagues by the appellate court last week.
Rising from their Governors’ Forum meeting held at the residence of Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State on Thursday in Abuja, the PDP State Chief Executives reaffirmed their overall confidence in the country’s judiciary to do justice to injured parties at all times.
A communique issued at the end of their meeting that had six other governors in attendance with some States represented by their Deputy Governors quoted the Forum as saying; “The meeting reviewed the recent judgments of the Court of Appeal concerning Governors of various States and noted the mixed outcomes.
“As a Forum, we once again re-state our overall confidence in the judiciary to do justice. We believe that the Supreme Court will do justice in the cases where we recorded temporary setbacks like Zamfara and Plateau States.”
Also turning their attention to the just concluded off-season elections held in Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi states on November 11, the PDP Governors Forum expressed support for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s decision to investigate allegations of the existence of “pre-filled result sheets even before elections started in some places to ensure the confidence of the people in the electoral process”.
Two of the country’s opposition parties, the PDP and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) endured torrid times last week as the Court of Appeal sacked three of their governors initially declared as valid winners of the March 18, 2023 gubernatorial elections by INEC.
Those sacked by the Appellate Court are Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf of NNPP with his All Progressives Congress (APC) opponent, Nasir Gawuna, as the winner of the poll; PDP’s Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara whose election was declared inconclusive with INEC ordered by the Court to conduct fresh polls in three local government areas of the state; and Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau, with the Court directing INEC to issue a Certificate of Return to APC’s Nentawe Goshwe.
On the contrary, it has been cheering news for the APC as the Appellate court affirmed the elections of their four governors, Prince Bassey Otu of Cross River State; Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State; Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State; and Engineer Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State.
