The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Cross River State has announced that it will appeal the Abuja High Court’s decision in favor of Governor Ben Ayade yesterday.
The PDP has indicated that it will take the case all the way to the Supreme Court.
The party stated that going to the Appeal Court would be “a civilized struggle and an intellectual investigation of the limitations and vastness of our jurisprudence in an unexplored region,” in a statement posted early Friday morning and signed by its Chairman, Vena Ikem.
The party stated that they will not rest until justice is served.
The party had gone to the Abuja High Court over Ayade’s defection to the ruling APC with the governorship mandate, claiming it as a provocation by unscrupulous forces who had previously been awarded the party’s mandate by mistake.
“We will be studying the judgment in its entirety with the certainty of appealing to the next Court of Law until justice is manifestly done.
“The judgment of yesterday by the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja is yet another successful exploration of the dept of legal jurisprudence in uncharted territory such as we have at hand. Let me assure you that this judgment is only a step in the overall picture envisaged by our lawyers when they took steps to explore this legal option which has the potential to take both the Judiciary and indeed our entire democracy to another level entirely.
“We will continue to support our lawyers as they lead us in this battle for the soul of our democracy and good governance of our people.”
He praised party members and supporters for not letting Ayade sleep soundly, saying, “With our stolen mandate, we will keep them awake for the rest of their time, which they brazenly flaunt at us who made it happen.”
According to the statement, Ayade regrets their “ill-fated voyage” with the APC, and that they “would continue to push the message home that it was the PDP who was voted to lead Cross River People in 2019 because our people are PDP, body and soul, and not APC.”
He encouraged supporters not to be discouraged by the decision’s immediate failures.
He also advised them to stay focused, saying that the ‘larger picture’ will emerge only once the Supreme Court rules on all matters in the case.
