Bauchi: APC’s Abubakar Rejects Tribunal’s Ruling

Sadique Baba Abubakar, the defeated All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, has stated his intention to appeal the decision made by the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which recognized Sen Bala Mohammed Abdulkadir as the duly elected governor of Bauchi State.

Therefore, he declared that he had already given his legal team the go-ahead to proceed with an appeal to the Court of Appeal in order to advance the cause of reclaiming “our stolen mandate.”

In a seven-minute video message to his followers on social media posted on Friday, Abubakar vowed to use every constitutional, electoral, and legal tool at his disposal to retake the mandate that the people of Bauchi gave him in the elections on March 18, 2023.

The APC governor candidate emphasized that the Tribunal erred in the Wednesday judgment and that he is ready to take the case all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary.

He claimed, “We have decided to appeal against the tribunal judgment, we are currently making our way to the Appeal Court, and we would follow any judicial procedure in the pursuit of reclaiming the people’s mandate. “

“We have every confidence that this stolen mandate would be reclaimed at higher judicial stages,” he said in thanking his supporters, particularly those All Progressives Congress (APC) members in Bauchi State. “

He said, “I heard that many of you fasted, prayed, and offered sacrifices for us to receive the judgment, but Allah has done His will. It’s just a temporary setback, and I appreciate your support always. Don’t give up; in the next round of the legal battle, we will prevail, inshallah. “.

Abubakar emphasized that under the Nigerian Constitution as amended, anyone who feels wronged has the right to file a lawsuit all the way to the Supreme Court, which he said he will do.

He emphasized that the mandate had been given to him and the APC but had been taken by force, but added, “Those who stole the mandate should not rejoice yet. We will recover it very soon through the legal means. “

While pursuing the legal matter, he emphasized that “there is no need to get into a physical altercation, burn down any property, or maim or kill anyone. Just keep pleading with God for help in your prayers. “

The former CAS then attacked the PDP-led government for deceiving the state’s citizens with projects that, in his words, “do not have any positive impact on the living conditions of the citizens.”

“How can a responsible government invest N9 billion in an office complex when people are going hungry, children are going to school on bare floors with blown-off roofs, hospitals are run-down and empty without medicines and other supplies, and salaries, bonuses, and pensions are not being paid?”. All of these will soon come to an end. “

Remember that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s election of Governor Bala Mohammed of the PDP on March 18, 2023, was challenged in a petition that the APC’s candidate for governor, Ambassador Sadique Baba Abubakar, filed last Wednesday. The Tribunal dismissed the petition.

The tribunal had ruled that the petition submitted by the APC candidate lacked merit and that there was no basis for overturning the INEC-announced election results.