Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the January 2011 gubernatorial primaries in Kogi state, Alhaji Jubril Isah(aka Echocho) has asked the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) to abide by the rule of law in respect of the Supreme Court ruling on the sacked governor Ibrahim Idris, adding that his candidature, rather than that of governor Idris Wada should have been upheld in a fresh election.

Echocho, in a statement by his media Consultant, Phrank Shaibu on Saturday said that the decision to swear in Captain Idris Wada as governor in waiting in Kogi after the January 27 ruling sacking governor Idris and others was contrary to the intention of the ruling of the Supreme Court, adding that while other four states complied with the intendment of the apex court by conducting fresh election, only Kogi went ahead to swear in a governor in waiting, which he said has been rejected by the Supreme Court.

Echocho stated that his candidature was not in doubt for the election and that he would have won the April 2011 election had the former governors not gone to court.

The PDP chieftain stated that with the rejection of the Governor-in-waiting idea by the Supreme Court, he was ready to reclaim his mandate by removing the legal tango.

He stated in the press release: “As you may have also known, the mandate that we have, was given to us by majority of lawful votes cast by delegates of the PDP in Kogi State.

Nobody has similarly doubted that our candidate, Jibrin Isa Echocho would have won the governorship contest in April 2011 had five ousted Governors of the PDP not gone to court.”

The statement further read:  “You are all aware that the Supreme Court, on Thursday 16th February,2012 ruled that it could not declare Captain Idris Wada as the Kogi State governor-in-waiting. A full panel of the apex court headed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Dahiru Musdapher declared on Thursday that the governorship election of December 3, 2011 which produced Wada was unknown to it.”

He stated that an attempt by the spokesman of the PDP to deny that the party initiated the suit seeking to secure consequential orders of the apex court to legitimize Wada’s reign in Kogi had reinforced the party’s penchant for disregard of the rule of law, adding that a seven-man panel of the Supreme Court rejected the party’s plea in an application brought by the PDPD seeking a declaration that Wada was governor-in-waiting, having won the governorship election in the state in December 2011.