NASS Election Tribunal: Bagos rejects verdict, goes for appeal
By Tom Okpe
A member of the House of Representatives, Dachung Bagos has rejected verdicts of the National Assembly/State, NASS Tribunal, nullifying his election to the House.
Recall that the Election Petition Tribunal, sitting in Jos, Plateau State recently, nullified Bagos’s election which he was declared winner on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) by the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) in the February 25th 2023 general election.
The Tribunal however, declared candidate of the Labour Party, (LP) Ajang Alfred, winner of the election declaring that, “Alfred, not Bagos was the rightful winner of the House of Representatives election,” pointing that the PDP candidate was not validly nominated by his party to contest the poll.
But reacting to the judgement on Wednesday in a statement, Bagos called on his constituency to remain calm as he will appeal the judgement in the appellate court.
Quoting Biblically, the book of Deuteronomy, 20:4 which says:
“For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory,” Bagos, representing Jos South/ East Federal Constituency of Plateau State said: “Democracy is for the people,
with the people I will always stand.
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“The outcome of the Election Tribunal against the mandate of the good people of Jos South, Jos East Federal Constituency raises a lot of questions.
“Can a mandate with an overwhelming winning vote of over 95,000 against 31,000 be a mere academic exercise,” he queried.
“It clearly shows that the wishes of the people don’t really matter for reasons of unfounded interests.
“Previous tribunal judgements have held that only party members have the locus standi to challenge nomination and sponsorship of a candidate.
“Furthermore, such issues are pre-election matters, I can’t help but wonder why this panel thought differently.
“I call on my constituents and party faithfuls to remain calm and resolute as we seek redress in the Court of Appeal; adding, “the PDP has since, complied.”
