WHY A VOTE FOR PDP IS A WASTED VOTE (By Shabul Mazadu)
The Plateau State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has embarked on a wild goose chase at the 2023 political dispensation, as such any vote casted for the party is a wasted vote.
Based on it's recalcitrant nature of brazen disregard to court judgment that led to its nonparticipation in the 2021 local government elections, and the lost of the Jos North/Bassa House of Reps seat, and following other means of escape, the party is heading speedily in a downward slope to political abyss where sulphur, fire and brimstone await its arrival.
The party which has made calumny, deceit and lies its manifesto with huge spendings to bewitch the ignorant public for colossal wasted votes, has only depicted vested interest and appointment with waterloo destiny.
It would be recalled its quackery Congress that led to the emergence of illegal party EXCO led by Chris Hassan in 2020 was nullified by justice PS Gang, and commanded the party to go back and organize a proper Congress but it refused.
In 2021, when Plateau Independent Electoral Commission, PLASIEC, was preparing for local government elections, Hon. Bitrus Kaze, wrote to the electoral body with the court judgment to exclude the PDP from the elections, and it complied.
The PDP went to court, Justice Kunda, affirmed its exclusion from LG elections. The party then proceeded to the Court of Appeal, and the Appellate Court affirmed the verdict of Justice Kunda.
When the member representing Jos North/Bassa Federal Constituency in the National Assembly, Hon. Haruna Maitala died, and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, organized a bye-election to fill in the gap caused by his dead.
The PDP's candidate Hon. Musa Agah won, but his defeated counterpart of the PRP, went to the tribunal using the previous judgments depicting non existence of legal EXCO structure in the party to feature a candidate in the bye-election. The Tribunal nullified the victory of Agah and gave PRP.
The PDP went to the Court of Appeal, the Appellate Court upheld the judgment of the tribunal saying so long as the PDP has no valid EXCO it cannot file any candidate in an election.
Justice Aisha of the Federal High Court has advised the party saying judgments are not balms that you keep in the house they are meant to be acted upon.
The PDP has lost five judgments on its EXCO saga, but instead of obeying the court order of Justice Gang to conduct new Congress for a legal EXCO, it refused.
It has lost at the Tribunal, High Court and Court of Appeal five cases on the same issue, and currently it's having the same case at the Supreme Court.
The party is claiming that the previous judgments on the matter were under the 2010 Electoral Act, saying we are under the 2022 Electoral Act. But it has forgotten that the 2022 Electoral Act was signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari, on February 25, 2022, and the Jos North/Bassa Federal Constituency bye-election took placed on the 26th February, 2022, under the new Electoral Act.
It is clear that the state EXCO of a political party is endowed with the responsibility of presenting candidates for election. The PDP has no EXCO, and there is nowhere that permits non-existing EXCO to present candidates for election.
The judgments that nullified the PDP presentation of candidates, is not nullified by another judgment, meaning it's still sacrosact.
Without being nullified, references can be made to them as judicial precedents. Hence, the PDP is equally out of the game.
Therefore any vote for the PDP is a wasted vote.
It is as a result of this that Governor Simon Lalong is confident of going to the Senate to represent Plateau South despite coming. second.
