The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) flayed the chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Prof Itse Sagay for his comments on the recent Supreme Court judgements on state elections in Zamfara and River States.
Sagay had, in a recent interview, described the apex court’s judgments as “national tragedy” and “unimaginable injustice”.
Similarly, he asked the party to approach the apex court to give the jurists an opportunity to reverse their decisions on the Zamfara and Rivers states cases.
He cited some legal authorities to underscore his conclusion that the court based its judgement wholly on technicalities without delivering justice.
But the PDP, in a statement by its national publicity secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, chided Sagay for his virulent attack on the Supreme Court and the judiciary as a critical institution of government.
It described the Professor’s comments as “resort to incitement and hate language against the Supreme Court Justices”, adding that they have exposed the mindset of the Buhari administration.
The party said the presidency and the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) were desperately plotting to “cow, blackmail, intimidate and attempt to annex the judiciary, particularly, the Supreme Court” ahead of the determination of PDP’s presidential election petition pending before the Court of Appeal.
“The PDP notes that Prof. Sagay’s comment has also revealed the level of condescension, derision and contempt the Buhari Presidency and the APC have for the Justices of the Supreme Court.
“By declaring the upholding of justice by the Supreme Court as a ‘national tragedy’ and ‘unimaginable injustice’, and suggesting that, ‘we (probably, his party members) should not allow’ the judgment as delivered, Prof. Sagay is calling for anarchy and rebelliousness against our constitutional democratic order and rule of law.
“Our party believes that such intentional attack on the integrity of the Supreme Court can only emanate from feverish apprehensions by the Buhari Presidency and the APC that they might not have their way in the Presidential election petition, hence this resort to blackmail”, the party added.
Ologbondiyan described the PDP as a “law-abiding party” adding that it would continue to hold the integrity of the justices as well as the institution of the judiciary very high.
He said the party would resist attempt by “agents of the APC” to clip and sequester the judiciary for their partisan interests.
He maintained that there is no way Prof. Sagay, a professor of Law, can justify his call for the rejection of the Supreme Court judgments on Zamfara and Rivers states.
The judgments, PDP said, were in protection of rule of law, democratic ethos, as well as the wishes and aspirations of the people.
It accused the APC of attempts to take control of the various states through manipulations and awarding of fictitious votes to their candidates.
The PDP called on the Supreme Court Justices to note the machinations of the APC and continue to be firm in upholding justice.
According to the party the judgements should serve as lessons to political parties on the need to adhere strictly to rules of internal democracy in the electoral process.
