Supreme Court judgement: uneasy calm in Nasarawa over appeal court verdict

By David Okpashi

AHEAD of the supreme court judgement, uneasy calm is raging in Nasarawa state as the two leading political parties, the ruling APC and the opposition PDP are on daggers drawing over Appeal court judgement.

The All Progressives Party (APC) in the State has raised alarm over alleged plans by PDP to orchestrate evil protests, overheating the polity and causing chaos in the state.

The party at a press conference in Lafia, State Chairman of APC, Aliyu Bello accused PDP of propagating ethic and religious incitement through protests directed at bringing disharmony among the people of Nasarawa State, who have been coexisting as citizens over time.

He claimed that since the declaration of Gov Sule as the winner of the March 18th election, PDP has continued to demonstrating divisive tendencies by mobilizing their gullible and vulnerable supporters, who parade themselves naked, on the street and at the Party’s secretariat.

“The poor women recruited to engage in this shameful act, have being paid and convinced, that such equally primitive action has the spiritual powers to earn the party victory at the courts.

“So far, the gods or the deities and the spirits the PDP has been invoking have failed them, and will further fail them again, at the Supreme Court.

“The PDP supporters are now classifying the people of Nasarawa State as indigenes and non-indigenes. They are sedetiously calling on their imagined “indigenous people of Nasarawa State” to unite and kick against the Court of Appeal judgement which has rightly reversed the judgement of the State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, by returning to Governor Sule, the popular mandate given to him by majority of the electorates after the Saturday, March 18, 2023 elections.

“We have continuously asked PDP the qualities that made some one an indigene without an answer provided. Since the resumption of democracy in 1999, the State has been governed by Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, from Kokona Local Government Area, late Dr. Aliyu Akwe Doma, from Doma Local Government Area, Sen. Umaru Tanko Al-makura, from Lafia Local Government Area and Engr Abdullahi A Sule from Akwanga Local Government Area.

“This state belongs to all of us. We should therefore, not be seen to encourage in any form senseless, baseless and provocative statements that have no roots in history.”

“The dream and struggle for the creation of Nasarawa State by the founding fathers transcended political, ethnic and religious sentiments, but anchored on fairness and justice, to harness our collective strength and resources for the betterment of our dear state.

The APC Chairman, therefore, called on the citizenry to trade the path of peaceful coexistence devoid of sentiments of prompting political unrest in the state for the progress of the state.

He added that the state does not belong to PDP, neither to any other political party but it is for all the citizens of the Nigeria nation who reside and do businesses within the geo-political area according to the armbits of the law.

According to him, anyone who is democratically elected to lead the state at any given time, and in any capacity must be accorded its full authority and legitimacy as anything contrary would be treason and punishable according to the law. He also urged the PDP Chairman in the State, Hon Francis Orogu to be conscious and guided by his utterances.

Bello that the judgment of the Appellate Court was comprehensive and unequivocal, saying however that the PDP, despite their deep knowledge on the facts of the case were bent on disparaging judges of the Appeal Court.

“They are claiming that a mandate which was mistakenly given to them has been stolen.Whereas, the democratic action they should take, if the party is confident of its claim, would be to abide by the rule of law, and patiently pursue their appeal.

“Our optimism for victory at the Supreme Court is based on the facts of what transpired at the Election Petition Tribunal, and the subsequent judgment of the Appeal Court.

The APC Chairman therefore appealed to security agencies in the state to mount sufficient surveillance on PDP in order to ensure that law and order is maintained in the State.