Supreme Court judgement breached Nigerians’ confidence in judiciary, Obi

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election, Mr. Peter Obi, Monday, condemned the Supreme Court judgement which affirmed the victory of President Bola Tinubu in the February 25 presidential poll.

The former governor of Anambra State who addressed a press conference in Abuja, said the judgement condoned breaches of the Nigerian Constitution, adding that the verdict of the apex contradicted the evidence of rigging and other electoral malpractice that marred the 2023 presidential election.

The LP presidential standard-bearer further described the judgment as a breach of the confidence of Nigerians in the judiciary.

According to him,  “Setting legal issues aside, the Supreme Court exhibited a disturbing aversion to public opinion just as it abandoned its responsibility as a court of law and policy.

“It is, therefore, with great dismay that I observe that   the   Court’s   decision   contradicts   the   overwhelming   evidence   of election   rigging,   false   claim   of   a   technical   glitch,   substantial   non-compliance with rules set by INEC itself as well as matters of perjury, identity theft, and forgery that have been brought to light in the course of this election matter. These were hefty allegations that should not to be treated   with   levity.

“More   appalling,   the   Supreme   Court   judgment willfully condoned breaches of the Constitution relative to established qualifications  and   parameters   for   candidates   in   presidential  elections.

“With   this   counter-intuitive   judgment,   the   Supreme   Court   has transferred   a   heavy   moral   burden   from   the   courtrooms   to   our national conscience. Our young democracy is ultimately the main victim and casualty of the courtroom drama.

“Without equivocation, this judgment amounts to a total breach of the confidence the Nigerian people have in our judiciary. To that extent, it is a show of unreasonable force  against the  very Nigerian people  from whom the power of the Constitution derives.

“This Supreme Court ruling may represent the state of the law in 2023 but not the present demand for substantive   justice.  The   judgment   mixed   principles   and   precepts.”

He stressed that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) displayed incompetence in the 2023 general election, saying: “We have long been aware of  how weak national institutions have negatively   affected   our   democracy.   This   year   2023   has   been   quite remarkable and revealing.

“INEC has displayed incompetence in the conduct   of   its   statutory   duty.   The   judiciary   has   largely   acted   in defiance of constitutional tenets, precedents, and established ground rules.

“Political expediency has  preceded   judicial   responsibility.  A mechanical application of technicalities has superseded the pursuit of justice and fairness. Both INEC and the Supreme Court, as the referees, respectively shifted the goalposts in the middle of the game.”

Speaking on his plans after the Supreme Court, Obi said his mission and mandate remain unchanged, noting he would continue to canvas for good governance and focus on issues that promote national interest, unity, and cohesion.

He added: “From the very onset, our mission has been more about enthroning a new Nigeria. It is a new nation where things work, where the country is led from its present waste and consumption orientation to a production-driven economy.

“Our   commitment   is   to   a   nation   anchored   on   the   principles   of prudent management  of  resources to   quickly pull  millions  out of multidimensional   poverty,   ensuring   transparency   and accountability   in   the   equitable   distribution   of   opportunities, resources, and privileges. In the new Nigeria, we aim to address all unmet needs by showing compassion for all those left behind by the present system.

“Going   forward,   we   in   the   Labour   Party   and   the   Obidient Movement are now effectively in opposition. We are glad that the nation   has   heard   us   loud   and   clear.

“We   shall   now   expand   the confines of our message of hope to the rest of the country. We shall meet the people in the places where they feel pain and answer their needs for hope. At marketplaces, motor parks, town halls, board rooms,   and   university   and   college   campuses,   we   all   carry   and deliver the message of a new Nigeria.

“Given our present national circumstances, there is a compelling need for   a   strong   political   opposition.

“We   shall,   therefore,   remain   in opposition,   especially   because   of   the   policies   and   the   governance modalities   that   we   in   the   Labour   Party   campaigned   for,   especially reducing the cost of governance, moving the nation from consumption to production, reducing inflation, ending insecurity, promoting the rule of law,   guaranteeing   the   responsibility   to   protect,   and   stabilizing   the Nigerian   currency;   are   clearly   not   the   priorities   of   the   present administration nor is it interested in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”

Obi, therefore, expressed his support to Nigerians “who believed in what is now only a revolution postponed”, adding: “We deeply appreciate the unalloyed non-partisan moral support millions of youth and ordinary Nigerians across ethnic, religious, and geopolitical divides have continued to give to Dr. Datti Baba-Ahmed and me.”