\u2026Buhari Turning Nigeria To A Fascist State- PDP<\/p>\n
As the Supreme Court prepares to deliver judgement on the Bayelsa State
\ngovernorship tussle on Tuesday, there are strong indications that top
\nofficials in the Presidency were mounting pressure on the Supreme Court to
\ncancel the election of Governor Henry Seriake Dickson and order a re-run
\nwithin 90 days.<\/p>\n
This was revealed on Sunday by a civil society group, the Movement for the
\nIndependence of the Judiciary in the Niger Delta (MIJN).<\/p>\n
In a press statement signed by the National President of MIJN, Comrade
\nPatrice Egribido,\u00a0\u00a0the\u00a0\u00a0re-run, a presidency source hinted would provide
\nenough time for the All Progressives Congress (APC) apparatchiks to
\nproperly arrange the logistics to rig the re-run election and impose its
\ncandidate, Chief Timipre Sylva as Governor.<\/p>\n
Part of the deal by the presidency was to force the Chief Justice of
\nNigeria, (CJN), Justice Mahmud Mohammed to select the panelists from the
\nnew Supreme Court Justices to be sworn in today (Monday) with a clear
\ndirective to do a dirty job for the APC.<\/p>\n
The Presidency has also threatened to use the DSS to sting any Justices
\nthat refuses to do its bidding.<\/p>\n
This development according to the MIJN has suddenly breathed life into the
\nAPC in Bayelsa State as Sylva\u2019s supporters erupted in jubilation over the
\nweekend; organizing parties across Bayelsa State.<\/p>\n
Comrade Egribido noted that even though the threats by the Presidency have
\nsent fears down the spine of the Justices but there are strong indications
\nthat some Justices are refusing to play ball, insisting on the rule of
\nlaw.<\/p>\n
At press time, the group however said the CJN was also keeping the names
\nof the justices to hear the Bayelsa Governorship appeal closely to his
\nchest.<\/p>\n
Justice Mohammed who is billed to retire\u00a0on November 10\u00a0is said to have
\nvowed never to compromise his office especially at this time that he is at
\nthe \u2018\u2018departure lounge\u2019\u2019 of his flourishing career!<\/p>\n
The statement reads in part: \u2018\u2018This is not the first time, the Presidency
\nwould be making incursion into the judiciary on the Bayelsa governorship
\ncase to sway judgement in favour of the APC. It is unfortunate that a
\ngovernment which claims to be fighting corruption would be bent on putting
\njustices under pressure to do its bidding. What the Buhari Presidency has
\nforgotten is that manipulating court judgements is worse than naira and
\nkobo corruption. The Presidency should urgently desist from shopping for
\nfavourable judgements as well as stop threatening incorruptible justices
\nbefore the Buhari administration gives credence to critics who believe
\nthat the recent raid on the homes of some justices by the DSS was meant to
\ngag the judiciary from being impartial!\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
While stressing that his group was apolitical, Comrade Egribido averred
\nthat his organization would continue to defend the independence of the
\nJudiciary in the country and in the Niger Delta in particular!<\/p>\n
Comrade Egribido said both the Bayelsa State Elections Petitions Tribunal
\nand the Appeal Court had in separate unanimous judgements upheld the last
\ngovernorship elections in Bayelsa which Governor Dickson won and wondered
\nwhether the Federal Government was oblivious of the security implication
\nof thwarting the will of the people at the apex court?<\/p>\n
The chilling revelations by Comrade Patrice Egribido have raised tempers
\nin Bayelsa State especially in the camp of the Peoples\u2019 Democratic Party
\n(PDP).<\/p>\n
The Bayelsa State PDP Chairman, Honourable Cleopas Moses has urged PDP
\nfaithful to be calm. He lamented that the actions of the Federal
\nGovernment under the watch of President Muhammadu are drifting the country
\nto a totalitarian, fascist state.<\/p>\n
He called on men of goodwill to rise to the occasion before Nigeria is
\nturned into an APC- one- party- state.<\/p>\n
While expressing confidence in the Judiciary, the PDP chieftain urged the
\nSupreme Court Justices never to capitulate to the manipulation of the
\npresidency.<\/p>\n
He however noted if elections hold 100 times, Governor Dickson and the PDP
\nwill continue to trounce the APC because according to him, the
\nGovernor\u00a0\u00a0has delivered on his campaign promise by placing Bayelsa State
\non the path of security, rapid development, peace and prosperity for which
\n\u2018\u2018our people are eternally grateful.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Honourable Cleopas Moses said:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u2018\u2018Governor Seriake Dickson of the PDP
\noverwhelmingly won theDecember 5\u00a0and\u00a0January 9governorship elections in
\nBayelsa State in 7 out of 8 local government areas of the state.<\/p>\n
Timipre Sylva and the APC were roundly rejected by Bayelsans in the
\nelections. Both the trial court and the Appeal Court justifiably upheld
\nthe election of my Governor and it will be preposterous for the Supreme
\nCourt to cancel the election just because the Presidency wanted it
\ncancelled\u2026\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018 For me, cancelling the election will stab justice on the head and make
\nmockery of democracy and it is against this backdrop that I urge the
\njudiciary to always stand up to be counted in dispensing justice and in
\nthe defence of democracy in our fatherland! \u2018\u2019
\nENDS…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u2026Buhari Turning Nigeria To A Fascist State- PDP As the Supreme Court prepares to deliver judgement on the Bayelsa State governorship tussle on Tuesday, there are strong indications that top…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44962,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n