lbrahim Mohammed Ajia, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for llorin-West/Asa federal constituency in the just concluded February 25th general election in Kwara State, has said he had decided to discontinue with the legal proceeding against the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the spirit of Ramadan fasting.
Ajia, in a statement titled, ‘Re: My Offer To Serve: Time To Move On,’ signed by him and made available to journalists in Ilorin at the weekend pointed out that the decision was not because “we are expecting any consideration or gain from our opponent or his party but for the sake of God Almighty, the progress of our Constituency and our state.”
The PDP candidate, who noted that he had reflected on one of the lessons of Ramadan, which he said was the spirit of forgiveness, added that, “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.”
Ajia said he encountered limitations from both the tribunal panel and the INEC in the struggle to pursue the case, adding that, “there were clear signs of collusion between INEC, APC and perhaps, other authorities we may not know.
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“But to keep the hope of our supporters alive, we filed our case inspite 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.
“Despite the delay in granting our order, INEC refused to obey the order, up till this moment and that has limited the capacity of our legal team to present a robust case towards reclaiming our mandate.
“We have had representations and expressions of deep concerns by a lot of people about the apparent connivance between the APC and INEC and how that will impact the legal process.
“As a strong believer and a true Muslim, I believe that it is the Almighty Allah that gives power and to whom He wishes at the appointed time.
“As a progressive politician, my utmost desire is for our people to be served and represented effectively. I, therefore, wouldn’t want to create excuses for the
purportedly declared winner by INEC that he was distracted by the legal contest when he fails.
“However, we will not be deterred by this temporary setback in pursuing our set goals of making life more meaningful for our people. Thus, 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.
“I thank most sincerely, the good people of llorin-West/Asa Federal constituency for the support we enjoyed throughout the campaigns. I will never let you down, I promise.
“I also thank the leader of our great party in Kwara State, Senator Bukola Saraki, for all his mentorship and support throughout our campaign.”
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