The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oyo state has described the judgment of the Election Petition Appeal Panel sitting in Ibadan, the state capital as a test case for the judiciary and nascent democracy, noting that the judgment in one breadth claimed retrial at the lower tribunal is impossible while it did not tamper with the results of the gubernatorial election that ushered in Engr Seyi Makinde as the Governor of Oyo State.
Meanwhile, the Court of Appeal had on Monday said the Judgement of the lower Election Petition Tribunal which dismissed the petition of the APC’s governorship candidate, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, challenging the election of Engr. Oluseyi Makinde, of the Peoples Democratic Party, as the Governor of Oyo State in the election held on 9th March 2019 was perverse and therefore set the Judgement aside.
But, the PDP in a statement signed by its publicity secretary, Engr Akeem Olatunji explained that going by the judgment of the Appeal Court, the party’s gubernatorial nominee, Makinde remains the Governor of Oyo State, adding that the party got her mandate through the March 9th election of which the Judges could not fault its fairness.
The statement reads, “the PDP is happy that the tribunal upheld the election in her ruling.
“Governor Seyi Makinde as the candidate of PDP polled 515,621 votes as against 357,982 votes scored by the APC candidate, Bayo Adelabu, with a wide margin of over 150,000 votes to defeat the APC candidate.
“Such a landslide victory freely given by the Oyo State electorates and the entire masses is beyond manipulation or abracadabra.
“Governor Seyi Makinde did not get his mandate through the lower Election Petition Tribunal but in a free, fair and credible election conducted by INEC, hence the mandate is intact and it should be noted that Agodi government house is not vacant for whatever reason until 2023 when INEC will be lifting bans on political aspiration.
“We are not in crisis, the Governor is unruffled and our great party, PDP, views the whole drama as a charade of absurdity.
“If APC feels aggrieved, they are free to continue litigation, while we at PDP will continue with good governance and exemplary political leadership”, the statement concluded
