PDP reacts to Ekiti election tribunal judgment

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says it is taking its case over last year’s governorship election to the Court of Appeal and is confident of victory.

The election petition tribunal, which sat in Abuja, on Monday upheld the election of Governor Kayode Fayemi of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Mr Fayemi was declared the winner after he polled 197,459 votes in the election.

The tribunal, led by Suleman Belgore, ruled on Monday that the allegations by the Ekiti State PDP and its governorship candidate, Olusola Kolapo, that the APC manipulated the result was not substantiated by the evidence before the court.

The tribunal sat at the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Apo. It moved its sitting to Abuja last year for fear of violence in Ekiti.

The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, released a statement in reaction to the judgment.

Mr Ologbondiyan urged all PDP members, particularly in Ekiti State, not to despair over the court ruling.

He said the judgment of the tribunal will be overturned at the Court of Appeal and victory handed to the PDP and its candidate, Mr Eleka.

“The PDP holds that the Court of Appeal will consider the matter strictly on its merit particularly with the abounding evidence of rigging including violence, vote-buying, ballot stuffing and alteration of results perpetuated by the APC are still intact.

“Though the judiciary is passing through a trying time under the dictatorial tendencies of the Buhari Presidency, the PDP urges the Lord Justices to stand for justice by restoring the mandate freely given to the PDP candidate, Olusola Eleka, at the July 14, 2018 governorship election in Ekiti state.”

He added that that the entire nation and the international community widely condemned the manipulation that marred the Ekiti governorship election. He said the PDP strongly believes that justice will be served at the end of the day.