Zamfara: Fayose Urges INEC to Present Return Certificates to PDP Candidates

Former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, on Monday hailed the Appeal Court judgment which nullified the participation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2019 elections in Zamfara State, saying: "Hope appears not lost for democracy in Nigeria after all."

Fayose therefore urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to demonstrate courage by presenting certificates of return to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship, National Assembly and state House of Assembly candidates in Zamfara State.

According to him, "Those who cannot play by their own rules and run the affairs of their own party in accordance with laid down rules should not be rewarded with elective positions.

"INEC must therefore act decisively by halting the presentation of certificate of return to the impostor termed APC governorship candidate, withdraw it from the National Assembly candidates and hand the certificates to the PDP candidates who are lawful winners of the elections."

Reacting to the judgment yesterday through his Media Aide, Lere Olayinka, the former governor congratulated PDP candidates in Zamfara State, especially the governorship candidate,  Alhaji Bello Matawalle.

He said: "Those who believed that they can impose their wish on the people of Zamfara State will be defeated ultimately.

"This is a great victory for democracy. It is a sign that all hope is not lost.

"When parties in government behave as if they are law unto themselves, forgetting that the country is bigger than all of us, the judiciary becomes the only saviour.

"One is therefore relieved that the judiciary is giving Nigerians hope that all will still be well with democracy in the country, and I salute those courageous judges of the Appeal Court and others who have refused to be boxed into submission."

He also saluted the courage of Senator Kabiru Marafa, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), and others, who despite being members of the APC, refused to succumb to injustice and brazen disregard for the party rules by the powers that be.