*This is not the end, Obi tells his supporters
The recent Supreme Court judgment affirming Bola Tinubu‘s election as Nigeria’s president has ignited a fiery dispute between Peter Obi, the 2023 presidential candidate for the Labour Party, and the Presidency.
Obi expressed his apprehensions regarding the verdict, alleging that it undermined the citizens’ trust in the judiciary. Despite the dismissal of Obi and Atiku Abubakar’s appeals by the apex court, he steadfastly stood by his commitment to a vision of a “New Nigeria” characterized by transparency, accountability, and the equitable distribution of resources.
Obi made his position clear during a world press conference held at the LP National Headquarters in Abuja, stating, “This Supreme Court ruling may represent the state of the law in 2023 but not the present demand for substantive justice.”
“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,” Obi said during a world press conference at the LP National Headquarters in Abuja on Monday.
“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. Indeed, the rationale and premise of the Supreme Court judgment, have become clearer in the light of the deep revealing and troubling valedictory remarks by Hon. Justice Musa Dattijo Muhammad, (JSC) on Friday 27th October 2023.”
Obi further told his supporters that the quest for a new Nigeria has not ended.
“Where the value and import of the recent Supreme Court ruling ends is where our commitment to a New Nigeria begins. Our mission and mandate remain unchanged. From the very onset, our mission has been more about enthroning a new Nigeria,” the LP presidential candidate added.
Meanwhile, in a swift response to Obi’s critique, the Presidency issued a rebuttal, highlighting the apparent inconsistency in his stance. The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, reminded Obi that he had previously benefited from judicial decisions when he successfully reclaimed his governorship mandate in 2007. Onanuga emphasized the paramount importance of judicial pronouncements being grounded in evidence, legal precedents, and the rule of law.
Onanuga continued by urging Obi and the Labour Party to embrace their role as the opposition and begin preparations for future elections.
He expressed the hope that in the upcoming electoral contests, Obi and his party would concentrate on addressing pertinent issues rather than resorting to divisive tactics based on religious and ethnic sentiments.
“We are at a loss as to how the copy-cat Obi and his faction of Labour Party convinced themselves they won an election in which they came a distant third,” Onanuga said.
“At the press conference where he tried, in vain, to gaslight Nigerians with false claims and innuendos, Mr. Obi contradicted himself. Here was a beneficiary of judicial pronouncements in the past now castigating the same court because its judgment did not go his way.”
Onanuga said Obi and his party should know that the Supreme Court or any other court does not give judgment based on public opinion and mob sentiments. “Judicial pronouncements are based on evidence, precedents and the rule of law,” he said.
The presidential aide said the ex-governor of Anambra should quit criticisms and congratulate Tinubu.
“Having admitted that the Supreme Court ruling brought an end to litigation and any challenge to the bona-fide of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the validly elected leader of Nigeria and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Obi should have congratulated President Tinubu for his victory and pledge his support, in the spirit of statesmanship.”
