PDP protesters pass vote-of-no confidence on panel handling Atiku’s petition

The national secretariat staff of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday staged a peaceful protest in Abuja, where they passed a vote-of-no confidence on the presidential panel handling the petition of the party’s candidate for the February 23 election.

The protesters, who demanded that the President of Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa to quit the panel handling the petition, said there was no possibility of Atiku “reclaiming his stolen mandate” with Justice Bulkachuwa as member of the panel.

They were carrying placards and banners with different inscriptions such as; “Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, you can’t preside over your own case. Your husband is a senator-elect under APC”, “Justice is not for the most powerful, it must be seen to be right and done” and “On moral grounds, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, excuse yourself from the Presidential Petition Tribunal” among others.

Addressing newsmen at the premises of the Wadata Plaza, where they protested, the Chairman of PDP Staff Welfare Association, Mr. Clement Nwankwo, claimed that Atiku won the February 23 presidential election but was allegedly rigged out by the All Progressives Congress (APC) which he claimed worked closely with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The PDP threatened not to allow some individuals in the country to hijack the collective will of the majority of Nigerians, adding that Nigerians were tired of bad governance under the APC-led government.

The protesters also expressed worry over the worsening security situation in the country, adding that the nation’s economy under the current government was nothing to write home about.

“We are tired of the state of insecurity in the country; we are tired of the poor state of our economy; we are tired of this nepotic government; we are tired of the situation where the majority of our citizens are living in lDP camps as if we are in a state of war. Nigerians are tired.

“We are also aware that the President of the Court of Appeal and Chairperson of the 2019 Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa is the wife of Ahmed Mohammad Bulkachuwa, the Senator-elect on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), representing Bauchi North Senatorial District. This is completely unacceptable.

“We therefore fully support the call by the National Working Committee (NWC) of our party to demand that she recuse herself immediately from the panel,” they said.

The protesters challenged the Nigerian Judiciary to stand up to its statutory responsibility as the final arbiter in disputes, stressing that the Judiciary must do what is just in the eyes of the law and in line with the mood of Nigerians.

Some of them who spoke with our correspondent said they protested within the PDP National Secretariat premises because of fear of being tear-gassed by the Police.