Tribunal Verdicts Sacking Plateau NASS Members Won’t Stand — Mwadkwon

The Senate Minority Leader, Senator Simon Davou Mwadkwon, has described the Tribunal judgements nullifying the election of some National Assembly members in Plateau State as strange, declaring that the verdicts will not stand.

Mwadkwon, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senator representing Plateau North senatorial district, said in a statement on Friday, that he was confident that the Appellate Court will not let any judgement that is in clear contrast to the subsisting Supreme Court pronouncements stand.

He called on members and supporters of the PDP in Plateau State to remain calm, adding that “those presently rejoicing inside their house of lies will face the reality of their self deceit when the Appeal Court takes the right decisions on the tribunal judgements.”

Senator Mwadkwon said the Supreme Court judgement on the PDP suit on the nomination of President Bola Tinubu’s running mate for the February 2023 presidential election, Kashim Shettima, was clear enough as to who has rights to challenge nomination candidates for elections.

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He said the Supreme Court has made it clear that no political party can challenge the nomination of another political party, wondering how and why the Tribunal could nullify the election of duly elected National Assembly members on the ground that they were invalidly nominated due to no party structure in the state.

The Senate Minority Leader added that “even assuming but not conceding that the PDP had not structure in Plateau State as at the time the candidates were nominated, is it the State party structure that nominates candidates or the National?

“Was the national body of PDP that is legally empowered to nominate candidates for elections not the one that conducted the primary elections that produced our candidates? Or is it the duty of any other organ of a political party to conduct primary elections apart from the national body of the party?

“However, in the case of the PDP in Plateau State, the party duly complied with the judgment of Justice S.P. Gang and held a repeat congress in September 2021. This congress was dutifully monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as required by law.

“Consequently, the congress was affirmed by the Federal High Court’s judgment delivered by Justice D. V. Agishi in the case of Augustine Timkuk versus PDP. Furthermore, the judgement was unanimously affirmed by the Court of Appeal, Jos in favour of the PDP in a ruling by Justice T. Y. Hassan, Justice I. A. Andenyangtso and Justice O. O. Goodluck, delivered on 11 February, 2023.

“One now wonders where the tribunal got its ground of no party structure on which it nullified the elections of our duly elected National Assembly members.

“This is also considering the fact that one of the two panels of National and State House of Elections Tribunal headed by Justice Williams Olamide, in its own judgements, dismissed the ground on which the panel headed by Justice Mohammed Tukur, nullified elections of our party members.

“From whichever way one chooses to look at the judgements, they clearly stand logic and legal precedents on the head and will surely be nullified by the Appeal Court.

“Therefore, our people should remain calm, with assurance that those they willingly elected will serve their terms and deliver their electoral promises.”