2023: Yabrade petitions APC, says he will not participate in party’s rerun election for Warri Federal Constituency
…Insists that he won the primary, describes planned rerun election as effort in futility
…Says he has filed an appeal and stay of execution of judgment in court
Comrade Yabrade Moses, 2023 frontline All Progressive Congress (APC) aspirant in the Warri Federal Constituency of Delta state, has said that he will not participate in the rerun election slated for Saturday December 4, 2022, because he has already filed an appeal and stay of execution of judgment in court and whatever primaries conducted in defiance of this process, is an exercise in nullity.
Yabrade, who participated in the party’s primary held on the 27th of May 2022 which ended in a controversial outcome headed to the court where the court annulled the primary and ordered a rerun, made this known in a press statement on Friday to GbaramatiuVoice in Warri, Delta state.
While noting that he has petitioned the APC National Secretariat, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and among relevant authorities, Yabrade insisted that he won the election.
Giving detail as to why he took the decision, Yabrade Moses said; “I want to inform all our supporters that I will not be participating in any rerun election anytime soon, as I have already filled an appeal and stay of execution of judgment in Court and whatever primaries conducted in defiance of this process, is an exercise in nullity.”
Read Full Statement Below:
THE PURPORTED APC RE-RUN PRIMARY ELECTIONS OF WARRI FEDERAL CONSTITUENCY ON THE 3RD AND 4TH OF DECEMBER 2022, AS THERE IS ALREADY AN APPEAL AND MOTION OF STAY OF EXECUTION OF JUDGMENT FILLED ON THE 29TH OF NOVEMBER, 2022.
I want to first and foremost thank God almighty who has sustained this battle from day one to this point. I knew it would be a very tough battle before embarking on the race earlier this year, and it has indeed been tough and at same time enlightening. Also, special thanks to members of my team, especially those of Itsekiri extraction, you are true heroes of democracy and champions of decent politics devoid of ethnicity and religious bias, you are indeed worthy examples for the whole country at large.
Your type is the reason we enjoy the fragile peace in Warri today and you are a proof that the unity of Warri is possible, the hope that Warri shall be great again! Special thanks to party leaders and Chieftains that have stood by me and I want to use this medium to apologize to those of you I may have offended in the process by reluctantly disagreeing with your appeal. It wasn’t deliberate or personal; rather it was for the purpose of our vision for a Greater Warri 2023, which is far bigger than my personal ambition.
It’s no longer news that the Federal High Court sitting in Warri gave its judgment on the 28th of November 2022, as the presiding Judge was convinced beyond all reasonable doubt that the APC Warri Federal Constituency Primary election held on the 27th of May 2022 was marred with irregularities, the purported victory of my opponent declared fraudulent and subsequently annulled while ordering a rerun election within fourteen days of the judgment. This has justified our stand from day one that we won and were subsequently robbed.
Anyway, I am unsatisfied with the judgment as I expected to be declared the winner if the fraudulent votes had all been deducted from my opponent’s whom they actually voted for. We have since filled a notice of appeal and stay of execution of the judgment, all received and signed by the court on the 29th of November 2022 and the concerned (INEC, APC and EKPOTO EKPOTO EMMANUEL) parties appropriately served. We know the Wheel of justice grind slowly but efficiently and the process would be worthwhile, since the facts have already been established in the Federal High Court Warri Division, which keeps us wondering how we weren’t declared winner. However, our hope in the judiciary is still as solid as ever and we believe the appeal court will grant us justice. We will reclaim our mandate in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I want to use this medium to encourage all our followers to be steadfast and not be deterred despite the threats and intimidation. We are fighting a just course and God willing, light will prevail over darkness. The reason for this pursuit is for a greater Warri, a Warri that will be greater than what was handed over to us; to lift Warri far beyond her glorious past and to position her in the committee of prestigious cities in the World and an envy of cities in this nation. This is the vision that has sustained our quest despite the huge challenges. The vision has fuelled our staying power! Those that are wondering why we are still pursuing the course should wonder no more as a man with a glorious vision never gets tired. Due to our insistence on this vision, we may have incurred many enemies, especially within our party (APC) and may have systematically been pushed aside from major activities of the party. Let it be known today that we cannot be distracted, we are men/women of vision and we know we are faced with hard hurdles, we anticipated this and still remain committed to our party’s victory in the polls (5/5) come 2023, this we have shown by still participating in all party activities (rallies & consultations), even if our efforts are not yet recognized.
However, we must sound a note of warning, that every man has an elastic limit and patience is a virtue that has a very dangerous alternate route and “a mother that refuses her child sleep, because of his/her legitimate right and demands, may equally face and uphill task of getting a good sleep. The party and her leadership should note that one cannot continuously beat a child and expect her to stop crying. We have been the victim of gross misconduct and injustice, part of which was caused by the party itself, especially the State, and some LGA structures as they showed vested interest in our opponent from the beginning of the race up till today and this was displayed by the actions of the various organs of the party and the umpire of the day who allowed illegal delegate into the venue on the said day to mar the process. We have been quiet all these while despite the anomalies from day one to this point, but might not be so quiet going forward, hence we are pleading with the party and her leadership to be father to all, as it is a known fact that little fire (sparkle) can gravitate to wild fires that may eventually consume an entire household. We have shouldered too much injustice and will no longer do so going forward. It’s a shame that the Delta state structure of the party that could not conduct a simple free and fair primaries, is still proceeding on the path of illegality to change delegate list that is already part of court process and mislead the National to pursue the quest of an hasty rerun when a notice of appeal and stay of execution of judgment has been filled, thereby trying to carry out another futile exercise to waste precious time and resources.
In conclusion, I want to inform all our supporters that I will not be participating in any rerun election anytime soon, as I have already filled an appeal and stay of execution of judgment in Court and whatever primaries conducted in defiance of this process, is an exercise in nullity.
Also, I want to urge all our supporters to remain peaceful and law abiding as they have always been, and continually work for the party’s victory come 2023, despite how we have been treated as we will all have our rewards, if after our victory in 2023, we are not given what’s due us, we will leave them to their conscience and God almighty, who is an unfailing rewarder of good deeds. God has been our strength and sustenance all these while, he still remains same and will never fail us. Indeed YABRADE MOSES GREATER WARRI VISION 2023 IS STILL ALIVE, Victory is sure!
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