By Abimbola Ogunnaike
The Presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party,(PDP) and his counterpart in the Labour Party(LP) have been told that their waterloo at the Presidential Electoral Petition Tribunal last Wednesday, 6 September, 2023, was caused by their the legal representatives who allegedly did not do their home work diligently before presenting their case in court.
A socio-cultural group, Pan Niger Delta Elders Forum (PANDEF) through its National Publicity Secretary, Ken Robinson, stated this in a state issued after the judgment of the tribunal
According to the group, the lapses in the presentations by the petitioners’ counsels were regrettable, adding that the lawyers did not do due diligence on the matter.
“With due respect to the learned lawyers, who handled those petitions, perhaps, they need to apologise to their masters and principals who gave them those jobs. From what we witnessed yesterday, they did not do a good job.
“People will express emotions, but the court does not look at the emotion, but at evidence brought before it. For us, we will appeal to those who are dissatisfied with the judgement of the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal to explore the avenue of appeal,” the statement said.
The group, which commended the Tribunal for doing a great job enjoined aggrieved parties to appeal the judgment, saying that nobody should even castigate or go into name-calling the judiciary.
“They have done their job very transparently as it should be done. For us in PANDEF, we will call all those who are dissatisfied to explore the avenue of appeal and avoid making statements that will heat up the polity.
“In the interest of Nigeria, national unity and peace and overall interest of the development of this country and our democracy, nobody should take the law into their hands,” Robinson said in the statement.
