By Felix Morka
Understandably rattled and miffed by the sound judgement of the Plateau State Election Appeal Court Panel, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has launched a campaign of calumny to discredit the three-man panel of Honourable Justices of the Appeal Court.
At a press conference on Wednesday, November 1, 2023, the PDP, aside baselessly insinuating that the panel was “hugely compromised and induced” by our great Party, called for the disbandment of the Appeal Panel; setting up of a new one, and a review of the judgements rendered.
The PDP is a sore loser and manifestly hypocritical. It has consistently queried every court judgement against it while profusely celebrating cases that it has won even in very opaque circumstances.
Such glaring and debased double standards only further confirms our view of the PDP as an irredeemably depraved institution and antithetical to the progress of our democracy.
Even as ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) was barred by courts from fielding candidates in Zamfara and Rivers States in the 2019 general elections. Yet, we never took the liberty to shame our judges and attack our democratic institutions as the PDP is doing. The PDP, arguably, a greater beneficiary of the independence and vibrancy of the judiciary, must learn to accept defeat with equanimity.
We urge the judiciary not to bow to intimidation and blackmail of the PDP, and to continue to uphold the principles of law and justice at all times in line with its constitutional duty and authority.
● Morka is the National Publicity Secretary, All Progressives Congress (APC)