The main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says the alleged threat contained in the written address by lawyers to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) sitting in Abuja is a pre-emptive move to intimidate the judiciary.
Tinubu had, through his lawyers, warned that nullifying the February 25, 2023 presidential election that produced him as president, on account of the fact that he did not score 25% of the lawful votes cast during the election in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) could “lead to absurdity, chaos, anarchy and alteration of the very intention of the legislature.
“May we draw the attention of the court to the fact that there is no punctuation (comma) in the entire section 134(2)(b) of the Constitution, particularly, immediately after the ‘States’ and the succeeding ‘and’ connecting the Federal Capital Territory with the States. In essence, the reading of the subsection has to be conjunctive and not disjunctive, as the Constitution clearly makes it so. Pressed further, by this constitutional imperative, the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, is taken ‘as if’ it is the 37th State, under and by virtue of section 299 of the Constitution.
“With much respect, any other interpretation different from this will lead to absurdity, chaos, anarchy and alteration of the very intention of the legislature”, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, counsel to Tinubu had pointed out in the final address dated July 14.
Reacting in a statement on Monday issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, the PDP said the statement by the lawyers in the said written address threatening crisis and anarchy in the country in the event of the Court ruling that their clients did not meet the Constitutionally required 25% votes in the FCT is “subversive, an affront to Democratic Order and assault on the corporate existence of the nation.”
”It is alarming and disturbing that the APC externalized to the public, their final written address in which they also threatened national peace if the Court upholds the clear provisions of Section 134 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) with regard to the mandatory and statutory requirements for which a Candidate in a Presidential election can be declared winner,” Ologunagba noted.
The opposition party insisted that the alleged threats, either through counsel or officials of the ruling party is calculated to intimidate and harass the Judiciary and indeed Nigerians.
“The PDP holds that the clear intent of the APC is to blackmail the Court and emasculate the independence of the judiciary to discharge its duties in accordance with the dictates of the law. This action is ostensibly to set the stage to orchestrate violent crisis in various parts of the country with the intention to further blackmail the PEPC.
“We ask, why is the APC externalizing their final written address to the public? Is the APC being pre-emptive and now seeks to heighten tension, subvert the judicial process and trigger anarchy, having realized the weakness of their case before the PEPC?,” the party queried.
The PDP, however, cautioned and emphasized that Nigeria is a country of Rule of Law, adding, “The statutory requirements for a winner in a Presidential election as provided by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and the Electoral Act, 2022 are clear and unambiguous.”
Ologunagba said the APC must therefore respect the provisions of the law and allow the judiciary to discharge its duties independently, without threats, intimidation and coercion.
“Contrary to the doomsday claims of the APC and its lawyers, upholding the provisions of the Constitution and the laws at this point will rather promote peace and stability in the polity, deepen our democracy and engender confidence in the Institution of the Judiciary,” the statement added.
The PDP called on Nigerians to remain calm, at alert and hopeful in the ability of the Judiciary to dispense justice accordingly.