Kogi APC, SDP trade words over alleged fake news

The All Progressives Congress Campaign Council in Kogi State has accused the Social Democratic Party of deliberately pushing out fake news using the identity of the party to claim victory.

Recall that the SDP had been challenging the victory of Governor Usman Ododo on the November 11, 2023 governorship election.

Whereas the election petition tribunal as well as the Appeal court have decided the outcome in favour of Ododo.

A statement issued on Wednesday by the Director, Media and Publicity of the APC Campaign Council, Kingsley Fanwo, stated that the SDP had been adopting some surreptitious and nefarious publications to discredit the judiciary.

“Our attention has been drawn to some surreptitious and nefarious publications by the embattled Social Democratic Party, which has continued to hide behind one finger to push out fake news in the name of the All Progressives Congress,” he said.

He said that the strategy has been to be using the identity of the APC to claim judicial victory to compromise the course of justice by assuming APC is privy to future judicial decisions.

“This strategy was deployed during proceedings at the lower tribunal and it failed. They brought the same failed strategy to the appeal proceedings and it failed. Unfortunately, they have not learnt from their perennial failures. They are at their lying and propaganda best again.

“Their puerile and grossly unintelligent blackmail has continued to give them the result that represents the identity of the embattled party. The SDP’s blatant disrespect for the judiciary, logic and truth has continued to put them on the precipice of ignominy.

“It is our utmost belief that court cases are won in the law courts and not on the rough streets of propaganda. Only those who know they have bad cases resort to propaganda. Our party and its candidate have put their defence before the Supreme Court and will allow the Honourable Justices to do their job. We are not going to prejudice the likely decision of the Supreme Court.

“We urge the SDP and its propaganda amoeba to stop their attack on every institution of government. Our party is not interested in their macabre dance on the grave of lies, blackmail, propaganda, sensationalism and celebration of falsehood. The woeful attempts of the SDP and its candidate to prove their allegations at the lower tribunal and at the Court of Appeal must have gotten the better of them. Their frustration is understandable but not enough reason to tarnish the image of our Honourable Justices. Those who come to equity must come with clean hands.

“We urge our supporters to remain undaunted. We believe in the rule of law while our opponents believe in the reign of falsehood and propaganda. Only a failure continues to adopt a strategy that has always brought failure,” he said.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Muri/Sam Campaign Organisation who responded on behalf of the Muri/Ajaka campaign organisation, David Ijele, said the party has to speak out to prevent a similar miscarriage of justice at the Supreme Court.

“It has come to our attention that senior appointees of the Kogi State Government and supporters of the All Progressives Congress took to social media on Tuesday, August 6, 2024, to celebrate a purported victory in the case. This celebration included the dissemination of placards and graphics congratulating Ahmed Usman Ododo of the All Progressives Congress.

“Similar occurrences have been observed before the tribunal judgment and the Court of Appeal proceedings, where the judgments were leaked to the public and reported by mainstream media before the court even resumed sitting on the day of judgment. For example, the Sahara Reporters news platform published a copy of the judgment several hours before the court commenced sitting.

“As a campaign council and an interested party in this case, we have every right to call out these irregularities. We shall not tolerate any further attempts to influence the judiciary through the misuse of state treasury funds.

“We are calling on the Supreme Court judges to uphold justice and maintain public confidence in the judiciary’s ability to deliver impartial and well-reasoned judgments. As the process is about to begin, we categorically reject the current panel setup and urge the relevant legal authorities, particularly the National Judicial Council, to closely monitor and ensure a thorough process in selecting judges for the Kogi State case”, he said.