Lagos APC, PDP differ over Ambode’s Appeal Court victory

AS Lagos State chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC) celebrates the verdict of the Appeal Court, which upheld Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s victory in the last governorship election, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said it is merely a controversial legal victory and not a moral victory for APC.

The APC has however said that the court’s verdict was a true confirmation of Ambode’s defeat of the PDP governorship candidate, Mr. Jimi Agbaje.

The party’s Publicity Secretary, Joe Igbokwe said the verdict has once again proved that: “there is no meeting point between the ruling APC and PDP just as there is no relationship between rights and wrongs and between performance and non performance.”

He insisted that PDP has never posed any serious threat to the APC in Lagos in the past 16 years because Lagosians have never considered the party as a serious alternative.

“To the people, Lagos is too important in Nigeria to be left in the hands of mediocre and learners. While APC leaders and supporters were busy campaigning all over Lagos, PDP and its leaders were busy plotting with former President Goodluck Jonathan how to take over the state by any means possible including the use of brute force and intimidation.

“While APC campaigned with every energy, strength and power at its disposal, PDP were busy working with militant organisations, security agencies, non indigenes, and others to subvert the entire process. We saw our campaign material being brought down all over Lagos and PDP seizing the entire space,” he said.

The party urged Ambode to continue to show humility and magnanimity to all Lagosians even in the face of success.

But the PDP Spokesman, Taofik Gani said the Appeal Court simply identified a loophole of technicality in its petition stressing, “they agreed that‎ but for the identified mistake in writing our petition, the decision would have been different in the circumstance of the Lagos governorship election. Indeed, the court upheld that the Tribunal erroneously dismissed the matter of the qualification of Ambode in the governorship election. This is definitely a confusing judgment.”

He said that the judges have their conscience to contend with if they have done actual justice in the matter adding that the party will meet with its legal team for further advise and to consider all options, as appeal to the Supreme Court is not ruled out.

“We now know the strength and the weakness ‎ of the APC in Lagos,” he said.