The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Benue state has cried wolf following the sudden change in venue for hearing of appeals arising from the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, EPT.
The Court of Appeal Makurdi Judicial Division, yesterday, issued hearing notice in Appeal Number CA/MK/EP/GOV/57/2029 between Emmanuel Jime, of the All Progressives Congress, APC and INEC, and Samuel Ortom and PDP, for November 21, 2019. The same notice also applied for appeals number CA/MK/EP/GOV/61/2019 and CA/MK/EP/GOV/62/2019.
However, less than 24 hours after the notice was issued, a fresh notice emerged, changing the venue of the sitting from Makurdi to Abuja, Federal Capital Territory, FCT.
The PDP in a press statement signed by its Publicity Secretary in the state, Bemgba Iortyom, said the “Benue State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, totally rejects the movement from Makurdi to Abuja for the hearing of the Appeal filed before the Court of Appeal by Governorship Candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Emmanuel Jime and his party, against the judgement of the Benue Governorship Election Petition Tribunal which upheld the victory of Governor Samuel Ortom at the 2019 election.”
The statement further said that it finds the change of venue, “ordered by none other authority than the President of the Court of Appeal,” as “disturbing and unacceptable as there are no reasons given for the action.”
It called for the hearing to be conducted in Makurdi, otherwise, it “is an attempt at subverting the course of justice and will be lawfully resisted by PDP as the sponsoring platform and custodian of the hard-won victory of Governor Samuel Ortom at the 2019 Governorship Election in Benue State.”
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However, the APC through it’s Benue State Publicity Secretary James Ornguga, described the statement from the PDP as “shallow and medieval reasoning.”
The APC spokesman said “the internal processes of a court cannot be controlled by any political party,” adding that “the sitting location of a court cannot affect the substance or otherwise of a case.”
Also, the Spokesperson of Jime/Ode Campaign Organization, JOCO, 2019, Mr. Kula Tersoo described the press statement by the PDP protesting the decision of the Appeal Panel’s decision to sit, hear and determine the Appeal in the Benue 2019 gubernatorial polls in Abuja as the greatest folly in recent times.
Mr. Tersoo who asked the PDP to explain their fears about the sitting locations urged to PDP to stop displaying medieval ignorance arguing that where people believe in a judicial system, they also believe that the sitting location of a court cannot affect the substance of a case.
“As for the Appeal Panel sitting location, they sure have an option not to attend the hearing if they like. And the case, either way it goes, must end up at the Supreme Court. So, when it gets there eventually let them also follow up with a request for the Supreme Court to sit in Makurdi,” he said.
Meanwhile, a source from Jime and APC’s legal secretariat informed our correspondent that no reason has been given for the change in venue of the sitting.
