Imo bye-election: PDP asks Buni to resign over allegations against s’court judges

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has asked Mai Mala Buni to resign his position as the interim chairman of the national caretaker committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC), over his accusation against three supreme court judges.

The judges were accused of trying to subvert justice in the Imo north senatorial bye-election which was held on December 5, 2020.

At a court session on Tuesday, Musa Datijo Muhammad, who led a five-man panel of justices, said Buni had written a petition against him and two other judges, Helen Ogunwumiju and Abdu Aboki, for allegedly having a meeting with members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to subvert justice in the case.

While the apex court dared the party to substantiate its claims, it suspended the suit indefinitely.

Reacting in a statement, Kola Ologbondiyan, publicity secretary of the PDP, said the APC only thrives in fabricating lies and falsehood.

“It is indeed appalling that the illegal Mai Buni leadership of the APC could in their penchant for falsehood, go to the extent of falsely accusing the Justices of the supreme court of holding a meeting with PDP leaders allegedly to subvert justice in a case in which the PDP is not even a party,” Ologbondiyan said.

“The pronouncement of the supreme court, the highest court in the land, has ultimately vindicated our stand that the APC is a party of irresponsible, reckless and dishonourable persons, who only thrive on fabrications, falsehood, lies, blackmail and character assassination.

“It is shameful that after mismanaging its nomination process in the Imo north senatorial bye-election, the APC leadership is seeking to drag our party into its vicious attempt to use the instrument of blackmail and character assassination against the justices of the supreme court to settle their internal scores.

“While it is obvious that the APC is plagued with political cannibalism infighting and backstabbing, it is shocking that it will carry its wild tendencies to this ridiculous extent.

“The assertion by the supreme court that ‘if people as highly placed as the interim chairperson of the APC would open his mouth and make this weighty statement against innocent justices of this court…’ places a huge moral burden and integrity question on governor Mai Buni.

“Our party holds that the declaration by the supreme court that the APC has been making such useless statements in the past further vindicates our stand that the APC is ethically challenged and should not have been entrusted with governance.

“Our party, therefore, demands that Alhaji Mai Buni should immediately resign as governor and APC chairperson, having been indicted by the supreme court, after which he should face the court to answer for his baseless and irresponsible allegation.”

Ologbondiyan also urged the APC to leave the PDP out of its business and “face its self-inflicted woes in the courts”.