PDP to appeal court verdict on Gov Ayade’s defection

The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Cross River State on Friday announced that it will appeal the Abuja High Court’s decision in favour of Governor Ben Ayade yesterday.

The PDP indicated that it would take the case all the way to the Supreme Court.

The party stated that going to the Appeal Court would be “a civilised struggle and an intellectual investigation of the limitations and vastness of our jurisprudence in an unexplored region,” in a statement issued and signed by its Chairman, Vena Ikem.

The party stated that they would not rest until justice is served.

The party had gone to the Abuja High Court over Ayade’s defection to the ruling APC with the governorship mandate, claiming it was a provocation by unscrupulous forces who had previously been awarded the party’s mandate by mistake.

“We will be studying the judgment in its entirety with the certainty of appealing to the next Court of Law until justice is manifestly done.

“The judgment of yesterday by the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja is yet another successful exploration of the dept of legal jurisprudence in uncharted territory such as we have at hand. Let me assure you that this judgment is only a step in the overall picture envisaged by our lawyers when they took steps to explore this legal option which has the potential to take both the Judiciary and indeed our entire democracy to another level entirely.

Read also: Court dismisses suit seeking to remove Gov Ayade from office for dumping PDP

“We will continue to support our lawyers as they lead us in this battle for the soul of our democracy and good governance of our people,” the statement read.

“With our stolen mandate, we will continue to keep them sleepless for the duration of the period, which they brazenly flaunt at us who made it happen,” Ikem said to party stakeholders and supporters.

According to the statement, Ayade regrets their “ill-fated voyage” with the APC, and that they “would continue to push the message home that it was the PDP who was voted to lead Cross River people in 2019 because our people are PDP, body and soul, and not APC.”

The PDP Chairman encouraged supporters not to be discouraged by the temporary failures.

He also advised them to stay focused, saying that the ‘larger picture’ would emerge once the Supreme Court rules on all matters in the case.

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