The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said the affirmation by the Supreme Court of the elections of Governors Nyesom Wike (Rivers) and Dave Umahi (Ebonyi) has rekindled hope in the nation’s democracy.
The party also said the verdicts underscored the strategic importance of an impartial judiciary for the survival of democracy in the country.
In a statement yesterday by the Acting National Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, the party hailed the maturity, responsiveness and patriotism displayed by the apex court.
“The Supreme Court in arriving at its judgments, which have resounded among the people not only for being in consonant with their wishes and aspiration as expressed at the elections, but also for reviving their already dwindling confidence in the democratic process and the Nigerian project”, the statement added.
The party said the judgments have affirmed not only the popularity of the two governors but also that of the PDP in the two states and other states of the Southsouth and South-east.
“We note that despite the temporary setback of the 2015 presidential elections, the PDP remains the only party with genuine national interest and capacity to deliver a stable and united country.
“We urge our governors, legislators as well as other PDP elected and appointed office holders across the country to redouble their efforts in providing purposeful leadership with innovations for wealth creation in the face of daunting economic challenges in line with the ideology and visions of PDP’s founding fathers.
“This is especially as others whose political platforms offer no ideological base and clear-cut direction for governance are now resorting to blame games and defeatism, which serves no purpose or offer any hope for the people”, the statement added.
PDP Governors Forum on Wednesday night hailed the validation of Umahi’s and Wike’s elections.
The PDP governors said, after their caucus meeting in Abuja, that the two judgments amounted to victory for democracy. They praised Umahi and Wike, saying with their legal battles over, they would be better positioned to deliver democracy dividends to their people.
Ondo State Governor and Chairman of the forum, Olusegun Mimiko read a communiqué after the meeting.
Umahi welcomed the apex court’s judgment as the handiwork of God.
He said: “It is God that is at work. God gave us a divine mandate and He has, through the Supreme Court, made the path smooth for us to actualise the mandate; the mandate of providing the dividends of democracy to our people and making our state one of the best in this country.”