By Ugochukwu Alaribe

ABA—The All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Abia State chapter,  has accused its Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, counterpart of blackmail by faulting the composition of the Abia governorship Appeal Panel sitting in Owerri, Imo state.

In an interview with Vanguard in Aba, Chairman of APGA in Abia State, Rev Augustine Ehiemere said, it was surprising that the PDP would complain about the composition of the appeal panel on the flimsy excuse that the members were from the same division.

According to Ehiemere, “Why the sudden fear? Why did they not complain when the two panels that sat over the legislative Houses cases were headed by judges from the same division? Is it not infantile to allege complicity because the judges are coming from one division? Judges in Nigeria are rotated and posted to various divisions at different times. In the other panels, were there not Justices, who had sat in Lagos?”

The APGA chairman expressed surprise that while his party does not know the identity of those sitting on the panel, the PDP has already gotten information and started complaining about the composition of the panel.

He added since the case would be heard on its merit, there was no need for any of the parties to be afraid of the division or part of the country members of the appeal panel were posted from and urged the PDP to stop crying wolf.