The outcome of the presidential election petitions tribunal judgement, tomorrow, September 6, will have an impact in the forthcoming off season governorship election in Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa States.
An Owerri based political analyst, Mr Sylvester Ahumibe, told INNONEWS in an interview, that if the judgement goes in favour of any of the three contenders- Bola Tinubu of the APC, Peter Obi of the Labour Party, and Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, it will have an effect in the off season guber election in the three States, to be held on November 11.
“The judgement of the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal, will have serious political impact or multiplier effect in Imo State and in other States, the off season governorship elections will hold.
“There will be chain reactions from the judgement.
“If the tribunal verdict favours the LP, or PDP, the APC would be in dilemma because there will be bandwagon effect viz-a-viz voting patterns, which may not be favourable to the APC, during the governorship elections in those States.
“If the learned justices verdict favour the APC, the voting pattern will equally favour the ruling party and it’s candidates in those three States.
“Our brand of politics in Nigeria, is what I call, obey the wind politics, chain reaction politics. Voters in those States will be tempted to vote for the political party the judgement favours
“The judgement, whomever it favours, would give confidence to the aspiration of the governorship candidates in those States.
“This would be like a chain reaction which will flow from the judgement of the Presidential tribunal.
“It will serve as a powerful campaign tool or strategy for the candidate of the political party the judgement favours, to woo voters.
“And in the event the tribunal proclaims a re run, all the contending political parties will be energized, because such judicial pronouncement,will give a level playing ground to all the candidates in those three States. It will be 50- 50.
“Our brand of politics is greatly influenced by mundane factors”he said.
The Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal had announced that the three petitions contesting the proclamation of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the winner of the 2023 presidential election will be decided on Wednesday, September 6
The petitions are those filed by Abubakar Atiku, the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) presidential candidate; Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s (LP) candidate; and the Allied Peoples Movement’s (APC) candidate