The Independent National Electoral Commission on Wednesday said the judgment of the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal has vindicated the body on its stand that the 2007 general election was free and fair.
The commission also fixed April 12, 2008 as date for the fresh governorship election ordered by the court in Adamawa State.
The re-run of the annulled senatorial election in the Federal Capital Territory will hold on April 5, 2007.
The tribunal had on Tuesday upheld the election of President Umaru Yar’Adua and dismissed the objections raised by the Action Congress and the All Nigeria’s Peoples Party.
Reacting to the judgment at a press conference in Abuja, the commission, through its National Commissioner in charge of Information and Publicity, Mr. Phillip Umeadi (Jnr.), said the tribunal had justified its claim that the 2007 general election was hitch-free.
Saying the litigation had enriched the country’s democratic process and accorded legitimacy to the presidential election, Umeadi urged Yar’Adua’s opponents in the election to accept the verdict and join hands with the government to move Nigeria forward.
The INEC commissioner said, “By the ruling of the Court of Appeal in the presidential election petition, more so the unanimous verdict of the eminent judges, the Independent National Electoral Commission has been vindicated in the outcome of the 2007 presidential election.
“INEC has consistently held that the outcome of the 2007 presidential election reflected the intent of the Nigerian voters. The firm and consistent assertion by the commission on the outcome of the election derived from an advantaged insight as well as an impartial and unsentimental analysis of the election.
“It is unfortunate that some partisan interest groups went out of the way to misconstrue the commission’s consistent standing with the truth.
“Now the Court of Appeal has spoken. It is good and heartening that the judgment came from the same body of legal arbiters of electoral disputes that have been widely acclaimed and praised by all parties in the land in matters concerning the 2007 elections.
“By remaining resolute and even-handed in handling the petition, even in the face of sentiments which spilled over in the media, the Court of Appeal has once more reaffirmed its historic place as the bastion of justice in the society.”
By Musikilu Mojeed, Abuja
The Punch
Thursday, February 28, 2008
