The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi on Monday, described as a breach of the citizens’ trust in the judiciary, the Supreme Court’s ruling that affirmed Bola Tinubu’s election as Nigeria’s president.
The apex court had on October 26th dismissed the appeals of Obi and that of the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar challenging the electoral victory of President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC).
Obi, while addressing a press conference in Abuja, the first since the apex court judgement, accused the Supreme Court of ignoring evidence that he said further dampens citizens’ trust in the judiciary.
“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.
“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.”
The LP presidential candidate, however, assured his supporters that the quest for a new Nigeria had not ended despite the ruling by the apex court.
“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.
“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.”
