by Mayowa Aboah

The All Progressive Congress (APC) has called for the dissolution of the Osun Governorship Election Tribunal, due to the removal of Justice I.M. Bako, the former Chairman of the Tribunal.

Bako was said to have been removed on the basis of a petition written against him by some people in the opposition party.

In a statement issued on Friday, in Benin City, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, stated that dissolving the tribunal is the only way for which it could gain back the trust of the public.

”According to the information at our disposal, the PDP used one of the candidates in the Aug. 9th gubernatorial election in the state to orchestrate the removal of the Tribunal Chairman, whom the party (PDP) considered not pliable enough for the achievement of its evil machination.

“Therefore, this removal is unacceptable to us, because it suggests that some dark forces are teleguiding the proceedings of the Tribunal – a development that is inimical to the fair delivery of justice.

“We believe this important arm of government must be shielded from political interference in the interest of justice, and in order for the citizenry not to lose confidence in it,” it said.

The APC accused the PDP of trying to barge into the Government House using irresponsible manipulation of facts since it lost the election in Osogbo last month.

“The most glaring has been the attempt by the PDP to deceive the public over the reason why INEC suspended two of its staffers over the Osun election.

“While these men were actually suspended for trying to rig the election in favour of the PDP, the PDP has put out a shameful lie that they were suspended for manipulating the election result from two local governments to favour the APC,” the statement read.

Emmanuel Chidiogo