The leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC), North-West Zone has commended the Court of Appeal in Abuja over its declaration of the Zamfara Governorship Election as inconclusive.
The commendation was contained in a statement issued on Friday in Kaduna by Mr Musa Mada, Zonal Publicity Secretary, North-West.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the court, in a judgement on Thursday, ordered a re-run in three Local Government Areas including; Maradun, Birnin-Magaji and Bukkuyum.
The court held that the Zamfara Election Petitions Tribunal did not consider the evidence provided by the appellants; the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Mada quoted the party’s Zonal Chairman, Garba Datti, as commending the Justice Oyebisi Folayemi’s led panel over the judgment.
“By this judgment, the Zonal Headquarters of the APC insists that the appeal court verdict of Thursday 16th 2023, vindicated their earlier stand of rejecting the tribunal’s judgment where PDP and its candidate emerged victorious in spite of all the evidences presented before it.
“Recall that the party at the North-West Zonal level had on 20th Sept. 2023, issued a press statement, rejecting in totality the verdict of Zamfara Election Petition Tribunal.
”It called on the candidate of the All Progressives Congress and current Minister of State Defence, Bello Matawalle ,to as a matter of urgency approach the appeal court for redress.
“The position taken by the appeal court that the tribunal failed to properly evaluate the evidences brought before it and that the appellants placed credible evidences before the tribunal speaks volume to our conviction that the court is the last hope of a common man.”
Datti, who also doubles at the National Vice Chairman, North-West, congratulated Matawalle on the resounding victory, which according to him, was a step towards reclaiming his stolen mandate.
He also congratulated the entire APC family in Zamfara on the success especially the state’s chapter of the party for their resilience in pursuing the case to this height.
He, however, urged APC’s chapter in the state to prepare itself for cross-appeal to the Apex Court even as the verdict was celebrated.
“Even though the appeal court judgment is in our favor and its enough to get us back on the saddle as we are confident that the bye election will demonstrate our strength in the state.
”Yet, we should still hope for a better outcome at the Apex Court,” he said.
Datti, then, reaffirmed the commitment of the Zonal Secretariat to support the state chapter of the party and its candidate, Matawalle in ”every step of the way.” (NAN)
