..We Can Not Celebrate Christmas When Our Mandate Has Been Stolen
By Our Correspondent
A coalition of women groups, Advocates for Social Justice in Nasarawa State has resolved to use the 2023 Christmas celebration to pray for justice to prevail in the case filed by the PDP Candidate Dr. David Ombugadu in the 2023 Governorship election against Alhaji Abdullahi Sule of the APC at the Supreme Court.
The women were drawn from different ethnic, religious, and political parties across the state dressed in black attire and dropped in their hundreds to the secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party along Lafia – Jos road chanting prayers and songs.
In an interview, leader of the coalition, Mrs. Margaret Allu said they rely solely on God to intervene to ensure that their mandate which they overwhelmingly gave the PDP candidate, Dr David Ombugadu during the 2023 Governorship election was given back to them.
She stated that the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal declared Dr. Emmanuel Ombugadau of the PDP wninber of the March 18 election based on the facts and hard evidence presented before the court but wondered why the Appeal Court nullified the judgment in favour of the APC candidate Alhaji Abdullahi Sule.
Mrs. Allu explained that INEC’s declaration of the APC candidate during the March 18 2023 Governorship election following manipulation of results from Gayam and Ciroma Wards in the Lafia local government area of the State was in total subversion the mandate of the majority of the electorate in the State as reflected in the tribunal judgment.
“Since March 2023, Nasarawa State women have been in pain. Dr. David Ombugadu got the majority of votes during the election. They rigged the election, especially in Gayam and Ciroma wards in the Lafia local government area in favour of the APC.
We cried and prayed, God heard us, and the tribunal nullified the election of A.A. Sule and declared Dr David Ombugadu the winner of the election, but the Appeal Court reversed it despite the hard evidence brought before it. We want the Supreme Court to tow the path of justice and review all the facts and figures and give us our mandate,” she said.
Another woman, Hajiya Lami Hamza pointed out that the quest to reclaim their mandate was a collective struggle for change given the diversity in the people who voted for the PDP candidate, Dr David Ombugadu during the March 18 election.
She regretted that in the previous Christmas celebrations, the Christian community used to share food and other gifts with non-Christians in their homes but due to the Appeal Court judgment which nullified the ruling of the tribunal to favour the APC candidate, they decided to gather in one place to pray to God to touch the hearts of the Supreme Court judges to do the right thing.
” I don’t know that we are in December. The whole State is not happy, we cannot celebrate Christmas as we used to do in the past. We are calling on the Supreme Court judges to resist any form of inducement and ensure justice is served in the case based on the evidence available in the election,” she added.
The women were displaying placards bearing inscriptions such as ” Happy Christmas to the judges who fear God. We cannot celebrate Christmas when our mandate has been stolen and Christmas is a joy but Nasarawa State is mourning.”
News Editor