Fayose: Taraba verdict can’t stand before God

Ayodele Fayose, governor of Ekiti state, has described the judgment of the tribunal which sacked Darius Ishaku as governor of Taraba state as “ridiculous”, saying the verdict “must not be allowed to stand”.

Alleging that there was a conspiracy between the federal government and a section of the judiciary against the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Fayose called on the supreme court to save the country from “impending anarchy”.

“How does the emergence of party candidate, which is the clear internal business of the party and a pre-election matter, concern the APC and the election tribunal?” Fayose asked in a statement issued on his behalf by, Lere Olayinka, his spokesman.

“Isn’t it funny that it is no longer about election rigging, but technicality of how PDP candidates emerged, even when no one in the PDP went to court to challenge how Governor Ishaku emerged as the PDP governorship candidate?

“If insecurity could make Taraba state tribunal sit in Abuja and not in Jalingo, how then can it be justified that the same tribunal that sat in Abuja nullified the governor’s election because the primary election that produced him too was held in Abuja?

“Is it not being manifested in this President Muhammadu Buhari led APC government that what is good for some people may not be good for others even though we operate the same constitution?

“To me and the teeming supporters of the PDP, this judgment is one that must not be allowed to stand. It is a clear miscarriage of justice and we will seek redress from the court of men and the court of God.

“If everybody is persecuted and intimidated to submission, I will remain resolute in my resolved to always say the truth before men and God.”

In his ruling on Saturday, Danladi Abubakar, chairman of the tribunal, declared Jumai Alhassan of the APC winner of the April 11 election on the grounds that Ishaku did not emerge candidate of the PDP in a proper primary election.

He ruled that Alhassan, also known as ‘Mama Taraba’, be sworn in immediately as governor because she came second in the poll.