Dissatisfied with the judgment delivered by the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal which affirmed Sen Bala Mohammed Abdulkadir as the duly elected Governor of Bauchi State, defeated All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship candidate, Sadique Baba Abubakar has expressed his resolve to appeal the judgement.
He, therefore, declared that he has already instructed his team of counsels to hasten the process of going to the Court of Appeal to further the cause of reclaiming “our stolen mandate”.
Abubakar in a seven-minute video to his supporters on social media, released on Friday, declared that he will follow all constitutional, electoral and legal means to reclaim the mandate the people of Bauchi have given him in the 18th March, 2023 polls.
The APC gubernatorial candidate said that he is prepared to pursue the case up to the Supreme Court if the situation calls for that stressing that the Tribunal erred in the Wednesday judgment.
According to him, “We have resolved to appeal against the tribunal judgment, we are now heading to the Appeal Court, and we would follow any judicial procedure in the efforts to reclaim the people mandate.”
He expressed gratitude to his supporters, especially members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bauchi State, saying, “We have every confidence that this stolen mandate would be reclaimed at higher judicial stages.”
According to him, “I got the report that many of you fasted, prayed, made sacrifices for us to get the judgement, but, Allah has done His will. I thank you for the support always, it is just a temporary setback. We will not relent, so, don’t be discouraged, victory is ours in the next stage of the legal struggle in sha Allah.”
Abubakar stressed that the Constitution of Nigeria as amended has given any aggrieved person the right to take legal action up to the Supreme Court, which he said, he will pursue.
He reiterated that the mandate was given to him and the APC but was stolen by force, saying however, “Those who stole the mandate should not rejoice yet, because, we will retrieve it very soon through the legal means.”
He, however, stressed that “There is no need to engage in a physical fight, no burning of properties, no maiming and killing anyone as we pursue the legal matter. You just continue to pray for divine intervention from God.”
The former CAS then berated the PDP-led administration for embarking on deceit of the people of the state by way of projects that according to him, “do not have any positive impact on the living conditions of the citizens.
“How can a responsible government embark on a N9bn office complex when citizens are hungry, when children attend classes on bare floors with blown-off roofs, when hospitals are dilapidated and empty without drugs and other consumables when salaries, gratuities and pensions are not paid. All these will soon come to a stop.”
Recall that the Tribunal last Wednesday, dismissed the petition by the APC gubernatorial candidate, Ambassador Sadique Baba Abubakar challenging the election of Governor Bala Mohammed of the PDP held on the 18th March, 2023 by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The tribunal had dismissed the petition filed by the APC candidate for lacking in merit declaring that it could not find any reason to void the election result as declared by INEC.
. TheWitness
