The call recently made by Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti state on the need for judiciary to as a matter of urgency investigate and prosecute the election tribunal panel that presided over the governorship election for Taraba state have began to receive tremendous supports from in and outside the state.
The recent support which came from a group known as Taraba Mandate Group ( TMG), also agreed with Fayose that the judiciary played a double standard in the case of Taraba state.
Citing the ruling on the governorship election of the neighbouring Benue state, where there was no primaries, they unanimously agreed with Governor Fayose that the judiciary in Taraba ruling ” played a double standard considering that in Benue and indeed many All Progressives Congress (APC) states, there were no primaries.”
The group who made the above observation in a press statement that was made available to Quick News Africa in Jalingo the state, lauded the efforts of Governor Fayose, whom they said have continue to speak the truth despite series of threats to his life.
Signed by it Public Relation Office ( PRO), Gani Bako, the group said “We are most grateful for his ( Governor Fayose) timely submission at a time when many retreated into their shell.
” His Excellency, Gov. Fayose has shown by his deft comments that it is indeed all for one and one for all stating that “We thus endorse his calls for the investigations and prosecutions of the judges that came up with that ridiculous tribunal judgement.”
The statement further reads that “We also support his suggestion that the judiciary in this matter operated double standards considering that in Benue and indeed many All Progressive Congress (APC) states, there were no primaries.
In fact, Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue even said he did not do a primary. Today, he is still governor because he is in APC. Thank you Fayose for standing on the popular side of truth.”
Noting that the ruling made Nigerians irrespective of religious and ethnic background to come together the opined that ” Nigerians for a very long time now have never probably been United on a matter the way they did on the funny conclusions of the tribunal which sacked Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku of Taraba state.”
Apart from the “bizarre nature of the judgement” Nigerians according to the group “suddenly saw through the cracks and dissected the political dramas playing out.”
Stressing that the “premise of the verdict is totally unknown to law” holding that the ruling is also “an insult on franchise that votes would be called “wasted” by anyone, no matter what authority such an entity or individual claims to have” adding that “Certainly, the majority of Taraba voters particularly felt insulted when the tribunal imperiously declared they wasted their votes.”
