By Andrew Oota
A Chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) from Plateau state and former member of the House of Representatives, Honourable Timothy Simon Golu has described as “shocking” , the conflicting judgement of the Justice Tukur panel on the conduct of the primary elections in Plateau.
Justice Tukur had ,in other cases ruled that pre-election matters were beyond the jurisdiction of the tribunals in line with the 2021 electoral Act.
Honourable Golu who equally commended the tribunal for affirming the election of the plateau state Governor , Barrister Caleb Mutfwang stressed that the victory was a clear reflection of the wishes of the majority of the people of Plateau state , therefore the tribunal judgement was expected .
Hon. Golu in an exclusive interview with Peoples Daily, said it was curious how same Justice Tukur will deliver different judgements on the same subject matter.
He said: “he gave a judgement in Plateau that pre-election matters can be post election issues too. Even his colleagues on the bench and bar are shocked beyond their marrows.
“We believe the appeal will vacate his position without delay in the interest of justice ,fairness and equity.”
On the victory of the Plateau state Governor, the former lawmaker expressed happiness that the judiciary toed the right path .
According to him, “The tribunal affirmed the election of our governor ,Barr. Caleb Mutfwang confirming his massive victory of 18th March, 2023.
“It was a judgement expected because of the obvious issues at our advantageous position and we commend the judiciary for it’s objective judgement .
“As for the National and State Assembly ,the tribunal is divided . While the majority side toe the objective lone of the Governorship and gave judgement where its deserved, the second panel decided to toe a strange line completely away from the norms. The Justice Tukur panel shocked everyone by giving a different judgement on same matters he had settled not long ago”.
The panel had voided the victory of the peoples Democratic party National and State Assembly candidates over improper conduct of primaries .
The affected lawmakers have already proceeded to the Court of Appeal challenging the verdict of the tribunals that acted as courts of first instance .
