PLATEAU STATE ELECTION PETITION TRIBUNAL: SETTING THE RECORDS STRAIGHT 



By Aweng Akim


Election cycles in Nigeria comes with it's fair share of controversy, political jabs and banters are exchanged, intellectual debates and academic exercises are taken, propaganda is spread and conflict of interest is encountered, as expected in any political setting and evolving democracy. As a nation we were able to ride through the waves in 2023 peacefully and dutifully, the journey however didn't end in electing leaders across boards, there was a quick procession into different litigations as those aggrieved approached the courts for redress. The Election petition tribunal is the judicial body charged with the responsibility of looking into the facts and evidences presented by all party's before giving judgement.


The recent wave of tribunal judgements across the country and Plateau state in context has been received with mixed feelings. On one hand there was victory and on the other hand challenges have been encountered which led to the nullification of 4 PDP mandates by the Justice Tukur led Panel(2) of the tribunal, owing to structural issues and disobedience of court orders. These judgements has however brewed much controversy and confusion owing to the fact that PDP indeed has a structure and the panel was in contradiction with the electoral law and recently the PEPC.


Two panels sitting in the same building held separate opinions from one another, on 1 petition. It has become worrisome and has generated various debates amongst supporters and pundits. In that judgement the panel held that PDP lacked structure and as such could not validly nominate candidates for election because it was in disobedience of an order by Justice S.P Gang of the Jos high court.


It is important to set the records straight on these conflicting issues and make it known to the world that PDP has a valid structure and it was on that solid foundation it went to  overwhelmingly win 2 out of 3 senatorial seats, 5 out of 7 house of representatives seats, 16 out of 24 house of assembly seats and ultimately winning the gubernatorial election. None of these wins was a narrow escape, it was the will of the people and nothing but that.


ON THE ISSUE OF DISOBEDIENCE

PDP obeyed the judgement of Justice S.P Gang through a repeat congress in September 2021, the process was monitored by the Independent national electoral commission INEC, the body recognized by law to do so, those aggrieved previously acknowledged the congress and promised to support the leadership of the party. This enabled the party appear on the ballot in the first place. The congress was later affirmed by the Federal high court Jos in a judgement delivered by Justice D.V. Agishi, in the case between Augustine Timkuk vs PDP, in the judgement the court validated the state executives of the party as duly elected. The same judgement was unanimously affirmed by the court of Appeal Jos, in the favour of the PDP. 


ON THE LAW

The electoral act settled the matter when it stated that only party members had the locus standi to challenge issues known as "internal affairs" also, the PEPC in the case of APM vs Kashim Shettima addressed the issue as a pre election matter and held that the APM had no business in another party's internal matter. The law is clear on how pre election matters are handled, and the Federal high court is given the responsibility of doing that not the tribunal. The petitioners are simply intruders and interlopers in the eyes of the law.


CONCLUSION

It is often said that the judiciary is the hope of the common man and it is on this confidence I call on the judiciary and higher courts to uphold the rule of law and ensure the trust and confidence the people have invested is not broken.

 

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