Senator Joshua Dariye, a two-term Governor of Plateau State (1999 to 2007) and two-term Senator representing Plateau Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly (2011 to 2019) has refuted a WikiLeaks report currently being circulated in the social media alleging that Afe Babalola & Co played a role in influencing a gubernatorial election tribunal ruling in Plateau State in his favour, in furtherance of former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s political interests.
According to the patently false report, $225,000 was allegedly channelled to secure a favourable ruling for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Chief Joshua Dariye. The funds were purportedly funnelled through Babalola’s chambers, enabling the PDP to overturn a judgment that initially nullified Chief Dariye’s victory in the 2003 Plateau State gubernatorial elections.
In a strongly worded rebuttal, Chief Dariye pointed out that the allegation is not only false, but malicious and tendentious. According to him, no tribunal or court nullified his victory in the 2003 governorship elections; a fact that speaks for itself and can be readily verified from the records of the tribunal and courts that adjudicated the petitions arising from the 2003 governorship election results in Plateau State.
Furthermore, Chief Dariye emphatically asserted that neither Chief Afe Babalola, SAN nor any lawyer from his law office was part of the team of eminent lawyers, led by legal icons such as Idowu Sofola SAN, Conrad Joseph SAN, Robert Clarke (now SAN), etc, that successfully defended the spurious election petition against his victory in the 2003 governorship elections.
Chief Dariye, therefore, warned merchants and purveyors of such fake news to cease and desist from their invidious and libelous actions, failing which he will be constrained to seek legal redress.
