The G19 Presidential Campaign Team of Prof. Jerry Gana of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) has condemned the appeal court judgement of Thursday in favour of Mr. Donald Duke, as the Presidential Candidate of the party, describing it as a miscarriage of justice.
The Director General of Professor Jerry Gana campaign organisation, Dr Ike Neliaku who stated this today in Abuja during a press conference, said the campaign organisation had earlier in a press conference raised issues on some disturbing posturing of the National Chairman of the party.
Neliaku noted that “Information making the rounds since last week before the judgement emanated from Chief Falae; that the Appeal Court judgment will be given this week and that they will get victory.
“We are forced to ask; is Chief Falae also among the Justices? How did he know that the judgment will be given this week? How did he arrive at the certainty that the Appeal Court will rule in his favour this week? Could that be why he instructed Prof. Tunde Adeniran to prepare the ground for a meeting of the National Working Committee (NWC) which he had before now refused to convene, in spite of a written request by some senior members of the NWC.
He further stated that Chief Falae got the victory as designed and has now convened the Meeting of the National Working Committee to hold later today.
“We are therefore not surprise at the judgment of the Appeal Court, as well as the particular contents of the judgment. We observed very keenly the haphazard delivery and immense struggle of His Lordship, Hon Justice Aboki while reading the judgment.”
The Director General stressed that the G19 expressed grave concerns about the unfair and skewed composition of the Appeal Court Panel , stressing that two of the judges come from the home states of either the candidate or his running mate.
“The Hon Justice Agim is from Cross River State and perhaps even worked under Mr. Donald Duke when he served as Governor, while Hon Justice Jauro is from Bauchi State, the same state as Donald Duke’s running mate, Alhaji Shehu Gabam.”
He lamented that the importation of some elements into the judgment, which were neither canvassed nor part of the matter at the lower court, was very strange, stressing that the importation made the case for the appellant that the Party Constitution was submitted at the INEC on October 8, 2018.
