The Nasarawa State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has rejected the sack of Governor Abdullahi Sule by the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal in the state.
The tribunal had on Monday sacked Sule and directed the Independent National Electoral Commission to withdraw his Certificate of Return and issue the same to the winner of the 2023 governorship election in the state, David Ombugadu of the Peoples Democratic Party.
Reacting to the development at the APC secretariat in Lafia on Wednesday, the state Chairman of the party, Aliyu Bello, said the party believes that the tribunal committed a monumental error in declaring the PDP candidate as the winner of the governorship election in the state.
The Nasarawa APC further lamented that the facts and arguments presented by its legal team and that of INEC against the petition filed by Ombugadu and the PDP were overwhelming and incontrovertible, and wondered how the tribunal arrived at its decision.
The party, therefore, expressed its full support for governor Abdullahi Sule’s decision to appeal against the verdict of the tribunal, while assuring him of their complete loyalty throughout the legal processes.
“It is the candid and considered opinion of our great party, the APC that the election tribunal erred in arriving at its decision. Our great party therefore, unequivocally, and categorically rejects the split judgment of the Tribunal of two to one annulling the re-election of His Excellency, Abdullahi Sule, for a second term, as the Executive Governor of Nasarawa state.
“We identify ourselves with the dissenting judgment which is firmly rooted in law, facts and logic. This further strengthened
our resolve to pursue the appeal.
“We reassure His Excellency of the party’s support and loyalty. We are very optimistic that the inadvertent decision of the tribunal is only a temporary drawback, which will be redressed at the Appeal Court.
“We also wish to urge His Excellency not to be perturbed by this political blink, but to remain focused, and ever preoccupied with the task of providing good governance to the State, which he has been doing over the past years,” Aliyu Bello added.
While calling on supporters of the party to remain calm in spite of the unfavourable judgement, the state APC Chairman warned members of the PDP not to harass or intimidate any resident of the state under the guise of celebrating their candidate’s victory at the tribunal.
