Connect with us

Politics

I Refuse To Accept Tribunal Judgement Because It Lacked Justice – Atiku

Published

on

at

Atiku Speaks On Retiring From Active Politics

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has said he respects the judgement of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) but refuses to accept it because it lacks justice.

The former Vice President stated this on Thursday at a press conference held at the PDP National Secretariat in Abuja.

Atiku stated that the “war” over the 2023 Presidential election is still on and has directed his lawyers to appeal the judgement and proceed to the Supreme Court.

The PDP candidate said the tribunal judgment is bereft of substantial justice, saying that his disappointment in the verdict of the court can never destroy his confidence in the judiciary.

He said: The last presidential election in our country and the way it was managed by the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission, leaves behind unenviable precedents, which I believe the courts have a duty to redress.

“Our gains in ensuring transparent elections through the deployment of technology was heavily compromised by INEC in the way it managed the last presidential election, and I am afraid that the judgement of the court as rendered by the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal yesterday, failed to restore confidence in our dreams of free and fair elections devoid of human manipulations.

“Like I said at the beginning of this legal battle when I instructed my lawyers to file my petition challenging the outcome of the presidential election, my ultimate goal in this pursuit is to ensure that democracy is further strengthened through the principles and processes of fair hearing.

“I take great pains to tell you that the decision of the court of first instance on this matter utterly falls far short of that expectation. I am therefore here to tell you that, though the judgment of the court yesterday is respected, it is a judgment that I refuse to accept.

“I refuse to accept the judgment because I believe that it is bereft of substantial justice. However, the disappointment in the verdict of the court can never destroy my confidence in the judiciary.

“Consequently, I have asked my lawyers to activate my constitutionally guaranteed rights of appeal to the higher court, which, in this instance, is the Supreme Court. It is my conviction that the electoral process in Nigeria should be devoid of untidy manipulations and that the outcome of every election should be a perfect reflection of the wishes of the electorate.

“I believe that such is the only way through which our democracy can have a manifest expression of its true meaning. Whether I prevail in this quest or not, the record of my effort in ensuring an order of credible elections in Nigeria shall remain for future generations to evaluate.

“On this note, I urge all my supporters to remain steadfast. I urge them to take solace in an immortal lesson I learned from my leader and mentor, the late Shehu Yar’Adua, that losing a battle is less important than losing the war.

“We might have lost a battle yesterday, but the war is well ahead of us. And I believe that with our hopes in God, we shall win the war of restoring confidence and restoring hope in our electoral system. The war is not over.”

Naija News reported that Atiku had challenged the victory of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in court, but the presidential election tribunal threw out his petition for lack of merit and upheld Tinubu’s election.