26th September, 2018
The APC Campaign Council for the Osun Governorship Election has urged voters in the areas where the state’s election rerun will hold on Thursday to ignore the “ ranting’’ of the PDP and turn out en masse to vote for the ruling party.”
A statement issued in Abuja by the Chairman of the Council’s Media Committee, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the threat by the PDP to challenge in court INEC’s declaration of Saturday’s election as inconclusive was “ nothing but sheer bravado.’’
Mohammed said the threat was because the opposition party was afraid of losing the rerun.
The chairman, who said the PDP might also have contrived the court threat as a way of distracting the APC and its members ahead of the rerun, called the 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.
“The apex court held 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,” he said.
Mohammed said that since the PDP had boasted that its candidate would win if the Osun Governorship Election was 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.’’
He, however, said that if the PDP chose to boycott Thursday’s rerun out of fear, the party’s right to do so would 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 chairman said.