Court Verdict: Don’t waste your resources going to Supreme Court – Gov Bello tells Atiku, Obi

Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State has urged Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi not to appeal the verdict of the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) affirming President Bola Tinubu’s victory, saying they would only end up wasting their resources.

Mr Bello stated this in an interview with State House correspondents on Thursday in Abuja.

The PEPC had on Wednesday, in a unanimous decision, dismissed the petitions of Atiku, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and that of Mr Obi of the Labour Party (LP).

Atiku already rejected the outcome of the tribunal and instructed his lawyers to proceed with the appeal at the Supreme Court.

Equally, the Labour Party and the lawyers of Mr Obi’s lawyer also kicked against the judgement, hinting that they will appeal it.

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Mr Bello, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said such an appeal will amount to a waste of resources because there is no ground for it.

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“As far as I’m concerned, I don’t think there is any ground for appeal. I will rather appeal to them that they should drop any appeal going to the higher court and then save the resources, save the trouble, advise their supporters, and admonish them that they should accept yesterday’s judgement. No flaw. I thank God for all that happened yesterday,” he said.

The governor urged the aggrieved parties to support Mr Tinubu to reposition the country, adding that the hardship Nigerians are grappling with is due to actions taken in the past.

“I advise all those that feel aggrieved, we have only one country, Nigeria. They should all come together and support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and ensure that we fix this country. Whatever hardship we are facing today is the effects of the past,” he said.

Mr Bello and his party, the APC, have continued to blame the past for the state of the economy despite being in the saddle since 2015.

Bello contradicts self on Natasha’s victory

Mr Bello, however, contradicted himself when he asked the two Kogi senators sacked by the tribunal to challenge the judgements nullifying their elections.

The APC suffered defeat in two senatorial districts in Kogi State at the National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal this week

The tribunal sitting in Lokoja, on Tuesday, sacked the senator representing Kogi East senatorial district, Jibrin Isah, and ordered a rerun election in 94 polling units.

On Wednesday, the tribunal also nullified the election of Abubakar Ohere as the senator for Kogi Central Senatorial District and ordered INEC to issue the certificate of return to Natasha Apoti-Uduaghan of the PDP.

Mr Bello said the two senators should seek redress at the Court of Appeal, a position that contradicts his advice to Messrs Atiku and Obi.

“This is democracy. and they (Messrs Isah and Ohere) have the right of appeal. I think they will take the appropriate steps to ensure that no violence is orchestrated anywhere.

“We will follow the due process of the law and whatever will be the outcome at the end of the day, we abide by it. But I want to assure you that even judging from the pronouncements yesterday at the appeal court, we are going to have our 3/3 Senate in Kogi State, I can assure you,” he said.