The Labour Party (LP) Sunday reacted to the controversy surrounding the emborsement of “Tinubu Presidential Legal Team” (TPLT) on the Certified-True-Copies (C-T-C) of last Wednesday’s judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC), charging the court and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to come clean over what really transpired.
The LP in a statement on Sunday signed by Dr. Obiorah Ifoh, it’s National Publicity Secretary, that “consequent upon the revelation that Certified-True ‘Copies (C-T-C) of the recent judgment by the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) had an imprint, “Tinubu Presidential Legal Team” (TPLT) as its header, Nigerians are curious about such happenstance that has inevitably generated storm and controversy”.
The court had last Wednesday dismissed the petitions by the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), LP and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as lacking in merit and failing to substantiate their claims against the APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Dr. Ifoh added in the statement that, “the Labour Party was very disturbed by the delay in releasing the judgment expeditiously, only to be confronted with this befuddlement. The public is equally at pains trying to comprehend what is happening.
“The onus of explaining and dousing the unfolding controversy rests on the PEPC and the TPLT, the imprint owners.
“Clearly, the header is not a watermark. We note that only some of the petitioners received the same version.
“In a highly contentious case with dire national interest and implications, confirming that the PEPC did not confer any advantage, rights, or privileges to any party is imperative.
“This development must be cleared quickly to avoid conjectures and the belief that something untoward happened. This cannot be the case of another glitch”.
The party noted that, “the unsigned and undated statement issued purportedly by a senior counsel on behalf of the Tinubu Legal Team is misconceived and empty. The senior counsel claimed that the header is a watermark! It is not and can never be.
“Typically, a watermark is a faint imprint or design made on some papers during production and which can be seen when held up to the light. It helps in checking the genuineness of the paper”.
Labour party stated that the senior counsel is responsible for unsubstantiating his claims and should not pass the buck to innocent parties.
“We of the Labour Party place it on record that the counsel who collected the judgment on behalf of our party and our candidate did so long after a representative of the Tinubu Legal Team”.
Meanwhile, “we call on the PEPC and APC to come clean on the C-T-C imprint and disclose whose imprimatur is inscribed on the entire judgment. Nigerians deserve the right to know and are demanding urgent answers”.
