Tribunal judgment: APC lampoons Atiku, Obi, opposition attacks INEC

The All Progressives Congress on Thursday slammed the presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party and Labour Party, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, for criticising the verdict of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal which upheld President Bola Tinubu’s election and the electoral process. This happened as Atiku and Obi attacked the Independent National Electoral Commission over its conduct of the polls. The five-member tribunal had nullified the petitions of Atiku and Obi in the 12-hour judgment delivered on Wednesday. However, speaking on the development during a press conference at the PDP national secretariat in Abuja, Atiku said his belief that the PEPC’s judgment left a lot to be desired convinced him to direct his legal team to approach the Supreme Court for redress. He stated, “I take great pains to tell you that the decision of the court of first instance on this matter utterly falls far short of expectation. I am therefore here to tell you that, though the judgment of the court yesterday is respected, it is a judgment that I refuse to accept. ‘’I refuse to accept the judgment because I believe that it is bereft of substantial justice. However, the disappointment in the verdict of the court can never destroy my confidence in the judiciary. He further noted, “I have asked my lawyers to activate my constitutionally guaranteed rights of appeal to the higher court, which, in this instance, is the Supreme Court. It is my conviction that the electoral process in Nigeria should be devoid of untidy manipulations and that the outcome of every election should be a perfect reflection of the wishes of the electorate.’’ He stated, “I take great pains to tell you that the decision of the court of first instance on this matter utterly falls far short of expectation. I am therefore here to tell you that, though the judgment of the court yesterday is respected, it is a judgment that I refuse to accept. ‘’I refuse to accept the judgment because I believe that it is bereft of substantial justice. However, the disappointment in the verdict of the court can never destroy my confidence in the judiciary.