We’re confident of Atiku’s victory at Supreme Court — PDP

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said it is confident that the judgement of the Supreme Court will favour the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Debo Ologunagba said this in a statement on Sunday.

A five-member panel of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal led by Haruna Tsammani had dismissed three appeals challenging the victory of President Bola Tinubu on the ground that the petitioners failed to substantiate their allegations of electoral fraud against Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Mr Tinubu, among other claims.

The appellants, Atiku of PDP, Peter Obi of the Labour Party, and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) subsequently proceeded to the Supreme Court to challenge the judgement of the presidential election court affirming the victory of President Tinubu.

Registrar of the Supreme Court, Zainab Garba, in a notice issued last Thursday, announced that the court has fixed Monday, 23 October to hear the three appeals challenging the judgement of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal affirming the victory of Mr Tinubu at the last election.

The PDP spokesperson said the party is confident that the judgement of the Supreme Court will favour its presidential candidate because of the evidence that had been presented before the Supreme Court.

“As the Supreme Court commences hearing on the February 25, 2023, Presidential Election Appeal, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is confident that guided by the provisions of the law, the body of evidence, circumstances and facts presented before it, the Apex Court will deliver justice in the matter.

“The PDP believes that the issues of the February 2023 Presidential election; the barefaced violation of rules and the laws, the brazen manipulations and falsifications in perversion of our electoral process have put our democracy in a precarious situation,” the state reads in part.

Mr Ologunagba urged Nigerians to watch out for the Supreme Court and ensure that the court applied laws, guidelines and regulations of the INEC in delivering judgement.

“Nigerians and indeed the whole world look forward to the Supreme Court for justice in the hope that the Court will apply the laws, including the express provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the Electoral Act, 2022 and INEC Guidelines and Regulations in delivering substantial justice in the matter.

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“The earnest expectation of Nigerians and lovers of democracy across the world is that the Supreme Court will use this case to firmly validate the maxim that the Judiciary is the last hope of the common man.

“Nigerians are therefore optimistic in hoping that the Supreme Court will dispense substantial Justice according to law and fact in the appeal,” the spokesperson said.