Mr Pam Davou, a Jos-based legal practitioner and stalwart of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has appealed to the Judges of the Supreme Court to set aside the judgement of the Appeal Court that nullified the election of Gov. Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau.
Davou, who made the appeal in an interview on Friday, said the judgment of the appeal court that sacked Mutfwang was anchored on technicalities rather than facts.
The appellate court sitting in Abuja, nullified the election of Mutfwang and some members of the State and National Assembly from the state, citing lack of structure in the PDP as grounds for its judgments.
But Davou, who served as the Organizing Secretary of the Caretaker Committee, constituted by the National Secretariat of the PDP, insisted the party conducted fresh congresses in 2021.
”After the the High Court sitting in Jos directed the PDP to conduct fresh congresses, the national secretariat of the party constituted a caretaker committee headed by Sen. Tunde Ogbeha to carry out the assignment. I served as organizing secretary in the committee.
”We were initially given 90 days and later 40 days was added to enable us conduct credible congresses in Plateau; this we perfectly did because the process was free and fair.
”Out of the 2,111 delegates from the 17 local government areas of Plateau, 1,800 participated in the state congress, representing two-third majority as provided in the PDP constitution.
”The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) supervised these congresses and even submitted its reports.
”This were the facts the tribunal used to uphold the victory of Mutfwang and other lawmakers in the state. But as a lawyer, I’m still in shock over the judgments of the appeal court,”he said.
The legal practioner explained that after the congresses, no member of the PDP went to court to challenge the process, except one Augustin Timkuk, whose petition was dismissed for lack of merit by both the High Court and Appeal Court sitting in Jos.
Davou also said that the All Progressives Congress (APC) had deviated completely from its earlier submissions at the tribunal when it approached the appellate court.
”Even a layman knows that what the appeal court usually do is to review the judgments of the lower tribunal vis-a-vis the evidences presented.
”The APC at the tribunal said that the PDP didn’t conduct congresses at all, but at the appellate court, it submitted that there was partial compliance. This simply means that PDP actually conducted congresses.
”This is enough evidence for the appeal court to dismiss the petition because it is not in tandem with what was presented at the tribunal and the court shouldn’t etertain such.
”And this is why I’m appealing to the judges of the Supreme Court to critically look into the merit of the matter and set aside the judgment of appeal court,”he appealed.
He, however, accused the APC in the state of imposing its current officials on its members, insisting that none of the current officials of the party purchased a nomination form.
”PDP is a peaceful party and always view the anomalies in the APC as an internal affair, because none of the current officials of the APC in Plateau can show his or her nomination form.
”They did not conduct congresses; the current officials were imposed on the party, yet the PDP is not talking about it because it is an internal business.
“We are all witnesses to the manner in which APC conducted the primaries that produced all its candidate and as we speak many members of the party are still aggrieved.
”So, I wonder why the court will entertain the petition of APC when they are obviously prognosing into the affairs of another party, ”he said.
Davou, however, appealed to stakeholders in the PDP to put their differences aside and work for the greater good of the party in the state.
