From Scholastica Onyeka, Makurdi
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Benue State and its governorship candidate, Mr. Titus Uba, has appealed the judgment of the election tribunal, which upheld the election of Governor Hyacinth Alia.
The tribunal headed by Justice Ibrahim Mohammed Karaye, had dismissed the petition by the PDP and Uba, challenging the return of Governor Alia by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Justice Karaye, who delivered the lead judgment, said the issues raised by the petitioners were pre-election matters that ought to have been entertained by the Federal High Court, and not the tribunal.
A statement by the state Publicity Secretary of PDP, Bemgba Iortyom, said the party, through its team of lawyers was before the Court of Appeal to challenge the judgment on16 grounds, notably among which is the tribunal’s error in law on the issue of its jurisdiction to entertain both petitions.
“Our great party and her candidate fault the decision of the tribunal, which held that the ground of the petition was that of pre-election, despite clear and unambiguous statutory provisions and pronouncements of higher courts of record on the matter to the contrary.
“The party is confident that the petition was established before the tribunal as the documentary depositions made by Governor Alia’s running mate, Samuel Ode, were forged and that he was not a candidate to the election on the account that his name was not submitted to the INEC alongside that of Alia for the election as expressly required by law.”
The PDP and its candidate, while restating faith in the judiciary, said they remain optimistic that the appellate court would set aside the judgment of the tribunal, and deliver substantive justice in their petition, in line with the hopes of the people that the Judiciary will always be their last hope.