Ramadan: Ajia discontinues legal process against INEC, APC

By Fatima Mohammed-Lawal

Alhaji lbrahim Ajia, the PDP candidate for the llorin-West/Asa federal constituency in the Feb. 25 general elections in Kwara, has withdrawn his legal process against the APC and the INEC in the spirit of Ramadan.

Ajia made the declaration in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Ilorin.

He stated that the decision was not because “we are expecting any consideration or gain from our opponent or party, but for the sake of God Almighty, the progress of our constituency and our state”.

The PDP candidate noted that he had reflected on one of the lessons of Ramadan, which he said was the spirit of forgiveness.

“This is the Holy month of Ramadan and I wish to discontinue the legal process we have instituted at the tribunal, against our opponent, APC and INEC,” he said.

Ajia said that he encountered limitations from both the tribunal panel and the INEC in the struggle to pursue the case.

He added that there were clear signs of collusion between INEC, APC and perhaps other authorities we may not know.

“But to keep the hope of our supporters alive, we filed our case, in spite of many difficulties and challenges our legal team encountered in the process.

“After we briefed our lawyers, they filed an ex-parte motion for an order to compel INEC to allow us access to the electoral materials including the BVAS report,” he said.

He explained that despite the delay in granting the order, INEC refused to obey the order, up till this moment, which has limited the capacity of our legal team to present a robust case towards reclaiming our mandate.

He alleged that an “apparent connivance between the APC and INEC and how that will impact the legal process”.

Ajia stated that his immediate family had also expressed worries about the diminishing possibility of an impartial legal process and urged me to let it go.

He pointed out that as a strong believer and a true Muslim, it is Almighty Allah that gives power and to whom He wishes at the appointed time.

“However, we will not be deterred by this temporary setback in pursuing our set goals of making life more meaningful for our people.

“This, we will continue to do through our Foundation and other engagements with various organizations and institutions we have contacts with.

“We will hold the government at all levels accountable to ensure that our people are not shortchanged in any way,” he said.

(NAN)