#PEPTJudgement: PDP rejects Tribunal ruling, heads to Supreme Court

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has vowed to appeal the judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal which dismissed the petition of the party and its Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in its entirety.

A five-member panel of the tribunal unanimously ruled on Wednesday to dismiss the petition, saying the petitioners did not prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt.

PDP has however said it “completely rejects” the judgment of the tribunal, describing it as provocative, barefaced subversion of justice and direct assault on the integrity of the nation’s justice system.

This was contained in a statement by the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, shortly after the tribunal’s verdict.

The party said it was shocked that the tribunal failed to point to justice despite the “flawless evidence laid before it, showing that President Buhari was not only unqualified to contest the election but also did not score the majority of valid votes at the polls.”

It added that it was bewildering that “a court of law could validate a clear case of perjury and declaration of false information in a sworn affidavit, as firmly established against President Muhammadu Buhari, even in the face of incontrovertible evidence.”

PDP said it was “rudely shocked that the Court took over the roles of the Respondents’ lawyers who clearly abandoned their pleadings by refusing to call evidence in defense of the petition.

READ ALSO: #PEPTJudgement: Buhari floors Atiku at Tribunal

“The court raked up all manner of excuses to make up for the yawning gaps occasioned by the total absence of any evidence from the Respondents.

“Nigerians and the international community watched in utter disbelief when the tribunal ruled that one need not provide a copy or certified true copy of educational certificate such individual claimed to possess, contrary to established proof of claims of certification,” the party said.

The party noted as strange that the court even went ahead to “provide rationalisations in favour of President Buhari, even when all hard facts before it shows that he did not possess the claimed educational certificate and that the Army was not in possession of his WAEC certificate as claimed in the affidavit he deposed to in his Presidential nomination form.”

The PDP however encouraged Nigerians to remain calm and not lose hope or surrender to despondency or self-help, as their lawyers were optimistic in obtaining justice at the Supreme Court.

“This is more so as the tribunal itself admitted that there are several errors in the judgment.”

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