The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Plateau state, said it will appeal the tribunal judgement which affirmed the election of Caleb Mutfwang of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as duly elected governor of the state.
The party asked its members not to despair over the judgment of the tribunal which dismissed the petition by the party and its candidate, Dr. Nentawe Yilwatda seeking to nullify Mutfwang’s victory.
The governorship tribunal petition had in the state had on Friday upheld the election of Mutfwang, while declaring that the petition by APC and its candidate lacked merit.
Sylvanus Namang, state publicity secretary, in a statement in Jos, appealed toAPC members in the state to remain calm, peaceful and law abiding.
The statement urged party members not to despair over the tribunal ruling against the party and its candidate, Dr. Nentawe Yilwatda.
Namang said, “Though the tribunal judgment did not turn out in our favour, as true democrats, we still believe and have strong faith in the judiciary.
“We urge our members and supporters never to lose hope as this is just the first leg of the processes of a three- leg process.
“The APC in the state has never been under any illusion that the journey towards reclaiming its mandate at the Gubernatorial Tribunal is going to be an easy task.
“We knew from the onset that it would be a painstaking and turtous one.
“We are, through our very capable team of lawyers, just as they have already indicated, going to test the strength and veracity of the judgment at the Appeal Tribunal which we believe we shall emerge victorious given the severity of the loopholes contained therein.
“We have several instances in our judicial system where judgments at the Court of First Instance i.e the Tribunal are upturned by the Appeal Tribunals and Supreme Court respectively.
“The tribunal is therefore, a temporary setback which we believe we shall emerge victorious in the long run to continue to provide good governance to Plateau people based on rule of law, fairness and justice which is totally lacking under the present PDP- led administration.
“While we call on our members and supporters to remain calm and ever hopeful, we want to thank them for their patience and the maturity they exhibited throghout the period the Tribunal sitting lasted.
“To the PDP in the state, we want to unequivocally state that it is not yet uhuru for the party but a temporary reprieve.
“We salute the patience, resilience and comportment of our gubernatorial candidate Dr Nentawe Yilwatda Goshwe and his Deputy, Hon. Pam Bot Mang whom we strongly believe shall have cause to laugh last at the end of the judicial processes of the election.”
