Audu, Sylva a mockery of anticorruption war - PDP
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said that the decision of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to consider Prince Abubakar Audu and Timipre Sylva as its governorship candidates in Kogi and Bayelsa states is a mockery of the anticorruption war.
The party said the decision to field the two former governors, who faced graft probes, meant that the APCled federal government was not serious about the anticorruption war.
The PDP, in a statement yesterday by its national publicity secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, noted that the two APC candidates still had cases with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The party said
it was ‘shameful’ for the ruling party to field candidates facing corruption charges.
“Evidently, the APC has clearly established itself as a party enmeshed and thriving in corruption, even as it tries to hoodwink the public into believing that it is on a mission to fight graft in the country, a contradiction we urge all Nigerians to take copious note of,” the PDP added. The National and State Assemblies Elections Petitions Tribunal sitting in Lafia, yesterday, dismissed the petition of a former lawmaker, Senator Suleiman Adokwe for lack of merit.
The tribunal, therefore, upheld the election of Mr Salihu Egyegbola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) representing Nasarawa South Senatorial District in the National Assembly.
The tribunal, in a judgment delivered amidst tight security, said the petitioner failed to prove his case beyond reasonable doubt.
The chairman of the tribunal, Justice Peter Obiora, said that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was right in rejecting the results in some polling units in Agwatashi ward for over-voting.
The tribunal accepted the election results from six out of the 14 polling units in Agwatashi ward.
Justice Obiora, who confirmed that the election was conducted peacefully in Agwatashi ward, stated that though some irregularities were noticed in few polling units, it did not invalidate the overall result of the election.
He held that Senator Egyegbola polled a total of 96,307 votes, while Senator Adokwe scored 92,485, as against, 95,760 and 91,981 votes announced by INEC.
Speaking in an interview, counsel to Adokwe, Mr Israel Usman, said that they would study the certified true copy of the judgment and advise his client on the way forward.
Mr David Ayewa, an aide of the senator, expressed happiness over the judgment, saying it was victory for democracy and the rule of law.