Former Speaker of the Plateau House of Assembly, Istifanus Mwansat, has denounced the conflicting judgments of the Court of Appeal that nullified the mandates of some PDP lawmakers in the State.
The nullification was over a pre-election matter already addressed by the Supreme Court.
Speaking in an interview on Arise TV, he labelled these decisions as a miscarriage of justice, pointing out that the Appeal Court rulings seemed designed to put the people of Plateau against one another.
“What is happening in the Court of Appeal is one of the wonders of the world. Because where you have the same Court of Appeal sitting in the same court rooms, same facts giving conflicting judgments, it calls for concern.”
Mwansat explained the inconsistencies in the judgments, citing examples such as the Plateau North Senatorial District, where the Appeal Court ordered a rerun despite the Labour Party candidate coming second and the APC coming third. Similarly, in the Bassa/Jos North Federal Constituency, where the PDP won decisively and the PRP came second, the Appeal Court called for a rerun involving all political parties.
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Expressing his objection, Mwansat highlighted the case of Shendam/Quanpan/Mikang Federal Constituency, where the Appeal Tribunal sacked the PDP candidate, awarding the victory to the APC who came second simply to appease the party.
He criticised the judgments as conflicting, saying they were a deliberate attempt to deny the PDP candidates of their overwhelming victories in the state.
Mwansat, a member of the PDP’s Caretaker Committee that supervised the party congresses in Plateau, emphasised that the PDP had complied with a State High Court order by repeating the state congresses on September 25, 2023.
He particularly drew attention to the case of Augustine Timkuk, a PDP aspirant for Langtang North State Constituency, who challenged the party’s primary election outcome in the Federal High Court.
Despite this challenge, the former Speaker said the Appeal Court upheld the validity of PDP’s structure and candidate nomination procedures.
He urged the Court of Appeal to review these judgments thoroughly and ensure justice prevails, in view of their implications to the peace and security of the State.