The Plateau State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the Peoples Democratic Party of overheating the polity and attempting to destabilise the state.
The APC in the state has also voiced concerns about the PDP’s alleged intention to mobilise hoodlums to harass and threaten tribunal judges in order for them to play their script in the remaining cases before them.
In an address to journalists in Jos on Friday, Sylvanus Namang, APC spokesperson in Plateau, also urged the Federal Government and security forces to intervene quickly in the current attempt to plunge the state into another unnecessary and avoidable cycle of violence and mayhem by arresting the ringleaders and perpetrators of these induced protests.
“In particular, yesterday Thursday 14th September 2023 in Jos by a faceless and self-styled pro democracy group calling itself Collation of Ethnic Youths under the leadership of Habila Gamji is simply another crude means of gauging and blackmailing the judiciary and cajoling the judges to abdicate their constitutional responsibilities,” he says.
“The PDP have even gone further to begin mobilisation of their supporters to assemble at the premises of the Jos High Court on the day the Governorship petition would be disposed off, these are rather a design by a pack of anti democratic forces to truncate our democracy,” the APC in Plateau said.
They urged the tribunal judges to stay resilient, focused, and devoted to their role of dispensing law and justice, saying, “we assure them that nothing untoward will emanate from all law-abiding APC members in the state and well-meaning Plateau citizens.”
According to Namang APC in Plateau state, “the Plateau state Chapter of the PDP has made some reckless press statements and clearly sponsored protests aimed at distracting and diverting attention by whipping up I’ll motivated sentiments against Judges of the Election Petitions Tribunal in the state.”
“That these come in the wake of the first tribunal’s fair, firm, and just pronouncements, which declared some APC and Labour Party National Assembly Candidates victorious, smacks of sheer mischief and blackmail.”
“Nothing is more dangerous to democracy than when political parties and governments, which are supposed to be the guardians of democratic norms, sponsor ill-intentioned protests against judicial decisions and judgements.”
“We wish to affirm that as firm believers in constitutionalism, democracy, and the rule of law, we will do everything in our power to ensure that justice is served fully. In this regard, we strongly advise the PDP to seek redress at the Court of Appeal if it is dissatisfied with any judicial outcome.”
“Our hard-won democracy should not be sacrificed on the altar of bad politicking by desperate and selfish politicians like the ones we see in our current clime.”
The APC also described the decision of the Justice BM Tukur-led administration to dismiss some PDP House of Representatives members and a Senator as fair and just, claiming that previous decisions by the second tribunal presided over by Justice Rotimi Williams had ruled against the APC and the Labour party despite overwhelming evidence and the established position of the law.
