The defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Ondo State yesterday said it was disappointed by the Supreme Court judgment, which declared Dr. Olusegun Mimiko winner of last October’s governorship election.
It urged the people not to despair, but remain focused on their quest for good governance.
In a statement by its former Publicity Secretary, Mr. Rotimi Agbede, the defunct ACN said: “It is unfortunate that the apex court dashed the expectations of the people, who hoped to wriggle out of the maladministration of the Labour Party (LP) government and its attendant pain, poverty and frustration.
“With the avalanche of incontrovertible oral and documentary evidence pointing to a compromised and discredited election, we are at a loss as to why the highest court sacrificed justice on the altar of legal inconsequentialities.
“This verdict is a judicial murder of justice, which is capable of eroding the people’s confidence in the judicial and electoral system. While we are not perturbed by this glaring injustice as we are more than resolute to engender good governance, we are concerned about the fate of the people, who are the main victims of this grievous decision, as they would have to wander through the wilderness of the LP administration’s recklessness for the next three years.”
The defunct party hailed its candidate in the election, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN); his running mate, Dr. Paul Akintelure; and its legal team for their “courage, doggedness and forthrightness” throughout the legal battle.
It urged its members to continue to pursue their goal on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
A chieftain of the APC, Senator Ajayi Boroffice (Ondo North District), urged the people to accept the Supreme Court judgment.
He regretted that residents would have to wait for a long time to get “the change they desire”.
Boroffice said: “Leaders of our party, professionals and the people fought a good fight as gallant soldiers of progress. They spoke against policies that would not allow development in their communities.
“They demanded character in leadership and agitated for good governance and rapid industrial development. They wanted jobs and economic prosperity for our people. These were their demands.
“I salute the stoic courage of Akeredolu and his legal team. You have not lost; you have only set an agenda for the new phase of activities in our great party.
“This judgment might have dampened our spirit, but it has not weakened our determination to rescue our state from the clutches of poverty, mass unemployment, corruption, mismanagement of our resources and a wasteful administration.
“We hoped for light but behold obscurity, but we will not relent until we rescue Ondo from vandals and transform it into a state that is economically viable, politically stable and socially secure.
“Let us remain focused in our resolve to produce a progressive government, which will guarantee good governance, democratic institutions, justice, equity and opportunities for our people.”
Boroffice said the people would continue to insist on free and fair elections.
A member of Akeredolu’s legal team, Mr. Victor Olatoyegun, urged the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Abubakar, to prosecute the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials responsible for the “illegal injection” of over 100,000 names into the voters’ register used for the election.
He said the “illegal injection” was a novel way of rigging by “compromised” INEC officials and was significant enough to guarantee Mimiko’s victory.
Olatoyegun said: “The Election Petition Tribunal, Appeal and Supreme courts consistently admitted that there were illegal injections of names into the voters’ register.
“But unfortunately, none of the courts had the temerity to annul the election conducted with it, especially when it was obvious that the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2011, were flouted.
“If, indeed, it is impossible to put something on nothing, then it stands to reason that no valid election can come out of the compromised voters’ register.”
The lawyer said the judiciary should be the last hope of the common man and rule against illegalities, without minding whose ox is gored.
He said: “We have heard of phrases like ‘my hands are tight, twelve-two third of 19 states’ before. The recent decision has brought to our judicial page other lexicons, now known as ‘illegal injection into the voters’ registers’ and the petitioner’s need to prove its ‘substantiality’ to invalidate an election.
“The apex court was expected to break the jinx by pronouncing the election conducted with an illegal register null and void, but its decision fell short of the people’s expectation of getting real justice.
“There is still hope for the common man, because the primordial sentiments of a judge are not representative of the general feeling in the legal community.
“It is a crime to unlawfully obliterate, alter or inject names into the voters’ register in the absence of a lawful review of the register. It is against this backdrop that the right of the citizenry to know the perpetrators of this illegal injection of names into the 2012 voters’ register used for the Ondo State governorship election becomes sacrosanct.”
