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Presidential Election Tribunal Ruling: Why Nigerians are divided
In this report, our Assistant Editor, Paul UWADIMA, writes on the reaction of Nigerians to last week’s ruling of the Presidential Election Tribunal on the petition brought before it by the presidential candidates of the Action Congress, AC, and All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Head of State, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, challenging the victory of President Musa Yar’Adua in the April 2007 election. The ruling of the tribunal last week upholding the victory of President Musa Yar’Adua in the April 21,2007 election has divided opinions which was hitherto not the case with their previous rulings of election tribunals in the states in which the judiciary were hailed by a cross section of Nigerians.
The Chairman Conference of Nigerian Political Parties, CNPP, Alhaji Balarabe Musa in his reaction told this paper that the verdict of the court was regrettable as according to him the court over looked the mountain of evidence presented by the petitioners and concluded that there was no ground to cancel the election.”How can any reasonable person believe that the evidence produced by the petitioners is insufficient to justify the cancellation of the election? Can there be justice which the public cannot identify, is justice so mysterious? It is very unfortunate,” he said. He also cast doubt on the chances of the petitioners getting their prayers answered in the Supreme Court.”The judiciary is part and parcel of the government if that is the case the judiciary will just maintain the status quo”.
Also supporting the CNPP chairman in disagreeing with the ruling are the Transition Monitoring Group, TMG, whose members traversed the nooks and crannies of the country monitoring the election that is in dispute. The TMG according to their spokesman Mr. Innocent Chukwuma could not comprehend how any judiciary could uphold an election like that of 2007 that was marred by irregularities. The group are disappointed at the ruling because according to it the tribunal lack any capable evidence to convince skeptics that the ruling was right.TMG decried the fact that there was an undue emphasis on technicalities leaving out the substantive issues which it said were clearly spelt out by both petitioners as well as the international observers.
On his own part Chief Festus Okoye a Human Rights activist and also of TMG told The Abuja Inquirer that the group stand on their report which stated that the April elections were marred by irregularities but noted that not every issue tabled before the tribunal has to do with the report.”We did indicate that election did not take place in many parts of the country and even the president acknowledged that. The issue of legitimacy has nothing to do with our report,” Chief Okoye said.
To the former Secretary General of Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, Col. Hammed Ali democracy is doomed with the judgement asserting that the country will never get it right again. He also posited that the 2007 election was worse than that of 2003 wondering why the court should allow the election to stand.
However the Action Congress, AC, whose presidential candidate Alhaji Atiku Abubakar said he has directed his lawyers to proceed to the Supreme Court in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary Alhaji Lai Mohammed in Abuja last week reiterated the party’s confidence in the judiciary.”We in the AC have always shown tremendous respect for the judiciary because of its forthrightness, fairness and fearlessness. Today’s judgement has not changed that, even though we would have wished that the tribunal would rule otherwise, considering the preponderance of solid evidence showing that what passed on for election on April 21 was nothing but a charade, a make-belief and a mockery of election process,” he said.
Speaking to Abuja Inquirer in Abuja on his reaction to the verdict the national chairman of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, Chief Chekwas Okorie wondered why some people would not accept the ruling in good faith considering the fact that this same people have been applauding the judiciary in previous rulings by the tribunals. He said the judiciary should be commended for their efforts and that he was impressed by the conduct of the tribunal while also thanking the tribunal for making it possible for Nigerians to watch the proceedings live on television.”My impression was that it was a very sound judgement. Every aspect that was contentious was well explained, the elucidation was quite understandable for any discerning mind and I say to myself this verdict has also come at a time the judiciary in Nigeria is enjoying a very high profile status locally and internationally. People are applauding the judiciary for the elections they have upturned, it would be hypocritical not to applaud the same judiciary now,” he said.
Expectedly the verdict have been well received by the leadership of the ruling PDP. The former president Chief Olusegun Obasanjo told the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, that the verdict has vindicated his administration.”The election was properly conducted, a vindication of the fact that my administration conducted the election to the best of our ability,” he said. The national chairman of the PDP Dr. Ahmadu Ali described the verdict as a victory for democracy noting that since the judiciary started ruling on election petitions a good number of parties have won and lost in the process. He called on Nigerians to close rank and join the president Yar’Adua administration in moving the country forward.
Speaking to journalists in Abuja shortly after the tribunal ruling he said;”With the affirmation of the court, we call on Nigerians to close ranks and rally round Mr. president and provide the necessary platform for the attainment of laudable objectives and programmes of concrete development. You would recall that since the tribunals have been reeling out their judgements, all the parties that contested the elections have lost and won cases. This is a clear indication that the judiciary in Nigeria is truly independent”.
President Yar’Adua on his part was magnanimous in victory as he called on the petitioners to join hands with him in order to move the country forward. He said he is ready to work “with all the stake holders to fully address the problems associated with past elections in the country and achieve a positive reformation of Nigeria’s electoral system that will ensure that the problems do not recur in future”.
For the AC and ANPP presidential candidates and their supporters their last chance to see election victory of President Yar’Adua last year torpedoed is the Supreme Court but before then Yar’Adua dey kempe in Aso Rock Villa.
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