The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has rejected the judgement delivered by the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) which upheld the victory of President Bola Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election.

Atiku said he refused to accept the tribunal judgement because it was “bereft of substantial justice”, noting that the court judgement was far short of his expectation.

The PDP presidential candidate expressed confidence that he would be victorious at the Supreme Court, saying: “We might have lost a battle yesterday, but the war is well ahead of us. And I believe that with our hopes in God, we shall win the war of restoring confidence in our electoral system.”

The PEPC had, on Wednesday, September 6, 2023, affirmed the election of Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and dismissed the petitions filed by Atiku and the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, Atiku added that he has asked his lawyers to challenge President Tinubu’s victory at the Supreme Court.

The former Vice President said: “My decision to go to court is anchored in my belief that the court is the sanctuary of justice. The journey of my political career, as you know, holds so much to the courage and fearless decisions of our judiciary.

“Indeed, I am no stranger to legal battles, and I can say that I have a fair idea of how the court system works. All through my career as a politician, I have been a fighter, and I must say that I have found the judiciary as a worthy pillar to rest on in the pursuit of justice.

“The last presidential election in our country and the way it was managed by the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission, leaves behind unenviable precedents, which I believe the courts have a duty to redress.

READ ALSO: Atiku: My lawyers’ll challenge Tinubu’s victory in Supreme Court

“Our gains in ensuring transparent elections through the deployment of technology was heavily compromised by INEC in the way it managed the last presidential election, and I am afraid that the judgement of the court as rendered by the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal yesterday, failed to restore confidence in our dreams of free and fair elections devoid of human manipulations.

“Like I did say at the beginning of this legal battle when I instructed my lawyers to file my petition challenging the outcome of the presidential election, my ultimate goal in this pursuit is to ensure that democracy is further strengthened through the principles and processes of fair hearing.

“I take great pains to tell you that the decision of the court of first instance on this matter utterly falls far short of that expectation. I am therefore here to tell you that, though the judgement of the court yesterday is respected, it is a judgement that I refuse to accept. I refuse to accept the judgment because I believe that it is bereft of substantial justice.

“However, the disappointment in the verdict of the court can never destroy my confidence in the judiciary.

“Consequently, I have asked my lawyers to activate my constitutionally guaranteed rights of appeal to the higher court, which, in the instance, is the Supreme Court.”

Atiku stressed that the electoral process in Nigeria should be devoid of untidy manipulations, saying the outcome of every election in the country should be a perfect reflection of the wishes of the electorate.

“I believe that such is the only way through which our democracy can have a manifest expression of its true meaning. Whether I prevail in this quest or not, the record of my effort in ensuring an order of credible elections in Nigeria shall remain for the future generations to evaluate,” the PDP standard-bearer added.

Atiku, however, urged his supporters to remain steadfast and take solace in “an immortal lesson I learned from my leader and mentor, the late Shehu Yar’Adua, that losing a battle is less important than losing the war.”

The Star