The messy fight over the soul of Osun State is trying to smear the exalted name of President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa. In the latest twist, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) has expressed concern over the alleged closeness of the Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, to the ruling APC.
The PDP at the weekend said it was not comfortable with the alleged relationship of Bulkachuwa with the APC, which they claim, was one of the respondents in the petition filed against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the APC candidate, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola. Recall that the PDP was leading in the Osun State governorship polls before INEC declared the elections inconclusive and ordered a rerun that surprisingly was won by the APC.
As the political ping-pong continues in Osun, the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr. Diran Odeyemi, in the statement at the weekend alleged that the President of the Court of Appeal was the one saddled with the responsibility of constituting election petitions tribunals, there could be possible political interference in the composition of the new Governorship Election Petition Tribunal for Osun State.
The PDP stalwart said, “The eldest son of Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, Abubakar Bulkachuwa, was until recently a governorship aspirant of the APC in Gombe State. Her husband was also known to be a foundation member of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC). We are worried that the sudden disbandment of the tribunal earlier set up by the President of the Court of Appeal might be due to the insistence of members of the disbanded panel to do justice in the petition without fear or favour.
“We equally have it on good authority that senior members of the APC and the Osun State government have boasted in several quarters that the new panel chairman and members are recommended by governors elected on the platform of the party as those who would do the bidding of the APC. However, the APC expressed disgust at what it described as the mischiefs of the PDP over the protest staged against the dissolution of the tribunal hearing.