PDP, APC Leaders In War Of Words Over Supreme Court Judges Alleged Bribery Attempt

The Leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Bayelsa State on Friday engaged in accusation and counter accusations over the alleged attempts to bribe the Judges of the Supreme Court over the State Governorship appeal either in favor of Governor Seriake Dickson and the Former Governor, Chief Timipre Sylva.

While the All Progressive Congress (APC) through its Publicity Secretary, Hon. Panebi Fortune, alleged that the party had set up of a special Monitoring team to monitor the planned attempts by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to bribe the Supreme Court judges to swing the ruling on the disputed State gubernatorial election petition in favor of its party candidate, Governor Seriake Dickson.

The PDP, through the State Publicity Secretary, Barr. Osom Macbere, described the accusation as complete balderdash, diversionary and should not be taken serious by any right thinking Bayelsan and indeed Nigerians.

According to the APC, though the recent report by its monitoring team showed that the PDP is planning to send a high powered delegation to Abuja ahead of the Supreme Court Judgement and boasting that the judges are loyalists of the last administration of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, the APC is ready to fight to the end to get justice for the people and recover its alleged stolen mandate.

The Leadership of the APC, in a statement issued on Thursday via email and signed by the state publicity secretary, Hon. Fortune Panebi, claimed that all the syndicates involved in the transfer of funds meant for civil servants salaries used as bribe will be investigated and prosecuted, “ the pre and post election activities has shown how desperate the Governor Seriake Dickson administration is in the quest for power.”

“We are also aware of the latest moves by the PDP to move high powered delegations to Abuja to influence the up-coming Supreme Court judgment, adding that the PDP were already boosting that most of the judges were loyalist appointed during the last administration of Ex-President Jonathan.

The APC also  accused the PDP of patronizing and enriching corrupt judges in the country to the detriment of the poor civil servants in the state whose salaries is been owe and future mortgaged, assuring the people of the state that the APC in the state is doing everything to ensure true justice is
delivered at the apex court.

But the PDP spokesman, Barr. Osom Macbere, in a separate Statement, likened the APC statement to the proverbial ‘pot calling the kettle black’, noted that, it is sad that, the APC statement is coming on the heels of the recent revelation by very senior Justices publicly accusing top members of the APC at states and national levels of allegedly attempting to bribe them to secure favorable judgments for their governorship candidates in some States.

According to Macbere, “The APC leadership in Bayelsa State has on several occasions, before and after the last governorship polls in the state, boasted of using federal might to win elections in the State, instead of the popular votes of Bayelsans and wonders how the same people are now turning round to point accusing fingers at the PDP”.

According to him, “what the APC is doing is to divert the attention of Bayelsans and Nigerians away from the truth, which is already in the public domain, that it is they (the APC) that have been bribing and attempting do the same to subvert the course of justices, as was alleged recently by some senior justices of the Judiciary”.

He also described the APC as a party of liars, who should not be taken seriously any longer, stressing that, they lied to win election and have failed woefully to fulfill their election promises, as Nigerians groan and suffer in hunger and abject poverty to a level never witnessed under any government in the past, stressing that, instead of telling Nigerians the truth, they are still lying.

The statement added that, while every Nigerian, including close family and party members of the APC have come out openly to blame the APC led Federal Government of its inability to manage the Nation’s economy, the APC in Bayelsa is so myopic and mischieveous that, it is still blaming the PDP administration in Bayelsa of subjecting people to hardship, when in actual fact, the problems are all traced to the misrule at the centre.

“For the umpteenth time, we want Bayelsans to be aware that, part of the problem of the State is the fact that, the PDP Government spends over a billion naira every month to service the bond that was taken by Chief Timipre Sylva of the APC, when he was the Governor of the State”.

He further stated that, rather than apologize to Bayelsans for plunging the State into a huge debt burden, arising from the bond their leader, Chief Timipre Sylva took, while he was the Governor of the State, the APC is shamelessly accusing the present administration of failing to develop  the capacity of the people of the State.

“What they, (the APC) are trying to do is to return to power and further mortgage the future of the State, through more loans and bonds and Bayelsans have openly rejected this, through their votes, but they are doing everything, including the bribery and intimidation of Honorable Justices of the Supreme court. But, it is only the Will of God that will prevail” he concluded”.