Governors elected on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday said it has confidence that the judiciary will do justice in the electoral disputes despite the mixed outcome from the Appeal Court verdicts.
The governors said they believe the Supreme Court will do justice in the cases where the party recorded temporary setbacks like Zamfara and Plateau States.
The governors stated this after a meeting in Abuja. The Appeal Court has upturned PDP’s governorship victory in election in Zamfara and Plateau States and also dismissed the party’s hitherto favourable verdict in Nasarawa State. They are eligible to contest the Appeal Courty verdict at the Supreme Court.
But addressing newsmen after their meeting, the chairman of the forum and Bauchi State governor, Senator Bala Mohammed, said their meeting reviewed the recent judgments of the Court of Appeal concerning Governors of various States and noted the mixed outcomes.
“As a Forum, we once again re-state our overall confidence in the judiciary to do justice. We believe that the Supreme Court will do justice in the cases where we recorded temporary setbacks like Zamfara and Plateau States.”
The governors also said they welcome the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to investigate the alleged pre-filled result sheets in Kogi.
Mohammed said, “The meeting also reviewed the off-season elections in Kogi, Bayelsa, and Imo States. We support the decision of INEC to investigate the allegation of existence of pre-filled result sheets even before elections started in some places to ensure the confidence of the people in the electoral process.”
On the national economy, the governors asked the federal government to urgently prioritise the introduction of a new Revenue Allocation Formular “that gives more money to States and Local Governments to enable them meet their increased responsibilities.”
Besides Mohammed, other governors who attended the meeting are Gov. Umo Eno – Akwa Ibom State; Gov. Douye Diri – Bayelsa State; Dep. Gov. Ifeanyi Ossai – Enugu State; Dep. Gov. Kola Adewusi – Osun State; Gov. Caleb Mutfwang – Plateau State; Dep. Gov. Mani .M. Mummuni – Zamfara State.
When asked about the poor attendance of the meeting, Mohammed said the other governors are still members of the forum and that they are still united as a group.
