Ex-Plateau Speaker Mwansat condemns A’Court judgements sacking PDP lawmakers

The former Speaker of the Plateau State House of Assembly, Istifanus Mwansat, has condemned the judgements of the Court of Appeal that nullified the elections of some Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmakers in the state over a pre-election matter addressed by the Supreme Court.

Speaking in an interview with Arise TV on Friday, Mwansat described the court verdicts as a miscarriage of justice, saying the Appeal Court rulings seemed designed to pit the people of Plateau against one another.

“What is happening in the Court of Appeal is one of the wonders of the world. Because where you have the same Court of Appeal sitting in the same court rooms, same facts giving conflicting judgments, it calls for concern,” he said.

Mwansat explained the inconsistencies in the judgements, citing examples such as the Plateau North Senatorial District, where the Appeal Court ordered a rerun after the Labour Party (LP) candidate came second and the APC occupied the third position.

The court also ordered a rerun in the Bassa/Jos North Federal Constituency, after a PDP candidate was declared winner of the election.

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The former Speaker said the judgements were conflicting, saying they were “a deliberate attempt to deny the PDP candidates of their overwhelming victories in the state”.

Mwansat, a member of the PDP’s Caretaker Committee that supervised the party congresses in Plateau State, stressed that the party had complied with a State High Court order by repeating the state congresses on September 25, 2023.

He particularly drew attention to the case of Augustine Timkuk, a PDP aspirant for Langtang North State Constituency, who challenged the party’s primary election outcome in the Federal High Court.

The former Speaker said the Appeal Court, despite the challenge, upheld the validity of PDP’s structure and candidate nomination procedures.

He, however, urged the Court of Appeal to review the judgements and ensure justice prevails, in view of their implications to the peace and security of Plateau State.

The Star