The Presidential Support Committee (PSC) has applauded the Supreme Court for dismissing the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, against President Muhammadu Buhari’s reelection, saying the pronouncement is a death knell for those who are bent on turning the country’s presidency into a commodity for sale to the highest bidder.
In a statement issued in Abuja yesterday by its Director of Communication and Strategic Planning, Mallam Gidado Ibrahim, the PSC said the seven-member panel led by Justice Tanko Mohammed which threw out Atiku’s appeal for lack of merit demonstrated that a court of law is not a “Father Christmas” that would give favourable judgement to litigants who approach it with frivolous cases and then rely on certain political sentiments just to get favourable judgement.
The PSC’s statement noted: “Today’s verdict by the highest court in the land is victory for democracy. It has confirmed that the judiciary is the last bastion of hope for the common man who President Muhammadu Buhari represents. During the campaigns, we had urged Nigerians to crosscheck properly whether the major opposition party in the country has their interest at heart by the way its senior members were going about their bid for a presidential candidate.
“We had alerted Nigerians that the PDP they rejected in 2015 on account of debauchery, pervasive corruption and collapsing and decaying infrastructure was out to desecrate the coveted seat of President of this nation. We said PDP was not interested in choosing a person of sound mind and clean past from its motley of contestants but was more concerned on who donated what to the party and as a result, the party has offered its presidential ticket for sale, in short for the highest bidder, amongst its presidential aspirants.
“And during the presidential poll, Nigerians heeded our warning and voted against the PDP and its candidate. Not satisfied, they approached the tribunal, thinking that the court will stand the law on its head in their favour. But they were disappointed when the tribunal told them clearly that they had no case against President Buhari.
“Today, their Lordships at the Supreme Court sounded the death knell when they told the opposition party that they were not Father Christmas that would give favourable judgement to a litigant with a frivolous appeal. It is justice for democracy; it is justice for Nigerians and it shows that our democracy is growing from strength to strength”.
The PSC further noted that the apex court verdict would serve as a lesson to the PDP, that next time it should not take advantage of the fact that it is a nest of moneybags by fielding a candidate with the financial muscle to buy the presidential ticket irrespective of his character or moral standing.
“Instead of showing the knack for regaining power at all costs, the opposition should focus on regaining the confidence of Nigerians and convince them that they can surpass President Buhari’s excellent performance in office before thinking contesting in another election. Any other thing would be an exercise in futility and a waste of time”.