A non-government organisation, Non-State Actors Consultative Forum (NOSACOF) has called on the Labour Party’s Presidential Candidate, Peter Obi and his running mate, Baba-Ahmed to have a rethink about their recent utterances allegedly linked to the formation interim government in the country.
NOSACOF in a statement signed by its lead convener, Abdulrazaq Alkali urged the Candidates to ‘respect Nigeria’s democracy and follow the constitution in lodging their grievances against the electoral process.
READ ALSO: NSCDC deploy 1,500 operatives in Kano, ahead Easter
This is coming less than two months since the Presidential Election ended with Independent National Electoral Commission INEC declaring Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress APC winner.
Tinubu’s emergence led to outcries by some of the candidates but the Government, security agencies and the some civil society group demand that the results be challenged only in court for the interest of peace.
NASOCAF’s statement as regards the moves by the Labour Party reads in parts;
The Nigerian political sphere is currently going through a post 2023 general election challenges. We can all agree that lawful display of grievances against the outcome of elections are common as experienced in the previous post election periods experienced in this country. It is common experience to see losers and winners get involved in media spats and rhetoric’s as well as media attacks and counterattacks regarding the conduct of the election. This is not common to only Nigerian democracy; however the extent to which politicians and political parties on the losing side behave and the route they follow to seek redress is what makes the difference between true democrats and self-centred politicians. Thus, it is very important that well-meaning Nigerians stand firm when politicians put their selfish agenda against the democratic values of our dear country by exploiting religious and tribal lines and making remarks targeting at jeopardizing the national unity and security of our country. It is quite clear to everyone that the Labour Party Candidate Mr Peter Obi, his VP candidate Dr Yusuf Datti Ahmad, their followers (widely known as obidients) as well as other prominent supporters of theirs particularly the likes of former President OlusegunObasanjo and former Governor of Anambra State Chukwuemeka Ezeife have all tow this dangerous and unpatriotic path of unfairly criticism and undermining our democracy.
One of the most regrettable actions are the remarks made by the VP candidate Dr Yusuf Datti Ahmad on a National TV, asking the President and Chief Judge of Nigeria (CJN) to truncate the victory of a valid electoral winner (in Mr Bola Ahmad Tinubu). Mr Datti also deliberately makesunscrupulous interpretation of the Nigerian constitution all in an effort to create chaos and rile up their support base. He further subtly threatens the Presidential and CJN powers by stating that “if they swear in the President-Elect, then they are engaging in an unconstitutional exercise” and that if Bola Ahmad Tinubu is sworn in as President, then the lives of Nigerians will be in danger. These deliberate remarks and comments from Yusuf Datti are extremely dangerously and treasonable, that every well-meaning Nigerian need to condemn with the strongest voice. It is very clear that Mr Yusuf Datti is trying to blackmail the Federal Government and the Judiciary and clearing the ground for chaos if their court case becomes unsuccessful. Unfortunately, Mr Datti was not the only one from their camp to utter such undemocratic and dangerous statements. Just after the election, former President Olusegun Obasanjo a staunch supporter of the Mr Perter Obi,released a media statement calling for the cancellation of a lot of the presidential election results. He also mentioned that the election result is like toying with the future of the country just to rile up their support base. Similarly, the former Governor of Anambra State Chukwuemeka Ezeife was caught on live TV saying that the President-Elect Mr Bola Ahmad Tinubu will not be sworn in as Nigeria’s President, and even went ahead to claim that his kinsman the LP candidate (Mr Peter Obi) won the Presidential Election but was rigged out by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Theseaccusations from Mr Ezeife were made without providing any substance or evidence to back up his claim.
In spite of all the above-mentioned dangerous utterances and actions, some supporters of Mr Peter Obi have decided to towa whole new level of unpatriotic by flying the kite of an “Interim Government” and selling it to their blind followers. With this they intend to create chaos against the swearing inof President Elect. It is on record that some supporters of Mr Peter Obi went to the extent of protesting at the defence headquarters, calling on the Nigerian Military to take over and stop the swearing of the President-Elect. It has also beendisclosed by the Department of State Security (DSS) about the plans of some disgruntled politicians plan to railroad the country into an interim government arrangement and have been promoting its possibility and advantages.
These sorts of unpatriotic actions are beyond common politics, and it is very important that Nigerians rise up and condemn such actors and their plans by upholding our democratic values and rule of law. Any politicians who felt aggrieved by the electoral process should follow the constitutional means and seek redress in the courts and election tribunals. It worth pointing out that the PDP and NNPP presidential Candidates has shown more decorum and respect to our constitution, as they have refrain from this unpatriotic action but instead PDP have invested their effort in challenging the election in a court of law as constitutionally stipulated. It is also worth applauding the stand taken by the Defence Headquarters on this issue, as in the just recently released statement where it acknowledges about such threat and made it very clear that the call for an Interim Government is illegal and unconstitutional and that the Military will stand against such action by upholding our democratic values and rule of law. We would also like to call on Mr Perter Obi, his VP candidate as well as their advisors and supporters to have a rethink about their actions and utterances, respect our democracy and follow our constitution in lodging their grievances against the electoral process.
