Joseph Bakare
The All Progressive Congress, APC, Campaign Council for the Osun Governorship Election has urged the party’s members in the areas where the state’s election rerun will be held on Thursday to ignore the rantings of the PDP and turn out en
masse to vote for the ruling party.
In a statement in Abuja by the Chairman of the Council’s Media
Committee, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the Council said the threat by the PDP
to challenge, in court, INEC’s declaration of last
Saturday’s election as inconclusive is nothing but sheer bravado,
especially as the opposition party is afraid of losing the rerun.
It said the PDP may also have contrived the court threat as a way of
distracting the APC and its members ahead of the rerun, calling that
distraction strategy dead on arrival.
”The PDP knows that the so-called court challenge which it has
threatened to mount will not fly, especially because the highest court
in the land has already pronounced on the issue of whether or not INEC
has the powers to declare an election inconclusive
”The PDP is not unaware of the pronouncement of the Supreme Court in
the case of James Abiodun Faleke Vs INEC and others, that INEC has
the duty of conducting elections and that, besides the constitutional
provisions, it is guided by the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) and
the Election Guidelines and Manual issued for its officials in
accordance with the Act,” the Council said.
It said that since the PDP had boasted that its candidate will win if
the Osun Governorship Election is conducted over and over again, the
party should stop being jittery and put its money where its mouth is
by willingly participating in the rerun.
The Council said, however, that if the PDP chooses to boycott
Thursday’s rerun out of fear, the party’s right to do so will be
respected.
”The PDP, after its failed mission to win Saturday’s election at all
cost, is shopping for an illegal shortcut to victory by threatening a
court action over an issue that has been settled. It’s a sheer waste
of time. Let the PDP drop its pretension and get ready to be defeated
in Thursday’s rerun. Alternatively, it can withdraw to save face,”
the Council said.