The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has expressed disappointment at the Supreme Court verdict which upheld President Bola Tinubu’s victory in the February 25 election.
A seven-member panel of the apex court led by Justice John Okoro had earlier on Thursday dismissed the appeals filed by the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart, Atiku Abubakar, for lack of merit.
The panel ruled against the appellants on all the appeals raised on the election.
In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, the party the ruling was disappointing and “thrashed” the expectations of Nigerians.
It faulted the apex court for condoning “serious issues of forgery, falsehood and perjury on the altar of technicalities.”
The party lamented that the Supreme Court ruling has eroded Nigerians’ confidence in the judiciary as the last hope of the common man.
PDP, however, urged Nigerians not to be discouraged or allow the judgment to detract them from their quest for the entrenchment of a credible electoral system in the country.
The statement read: “The PDP and indeed the majority of Nigerians are alarmed, disappointed, and gravely concerned with the reasoning of the Supreme Court which the PDP believes is against the express provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the Electoral Act, 2022, the Guideline and Regulation issued by INEC under which the election was conducted.
“The PDP asserts that it is indeed a sad commentary for our democracy that the Supreme Court failed to uphold the provisions of the law. Instead, it trashed the expectation of the majority of Nigerians who looked up to it as a Temple of Impartiality to deliver substantial justice in the matter having regard to the laws and facts of the case.”
“This judgment by the Supreme Court has evidently shaken the confidence of Nigerians in the judiciary, especially the Supreme Court as the last hope of the common man.”