Chief Olabode George, a former deputy national chairman of the People’s Democratic Party, has voiced reservations about the court’s involvement in deciding election winners in Nigeria and has cautioned the judiciary from removing the people’s right to do so.
Following the announcement that the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja would issue its ruling on Wednesday, he expressed his anxiety during a press conference held in his office in Ikoyi on Monday.
George questioned why the judiciary hadn’t ordered INEC to re-conduct the elections to help the emergence of true winners rather than making pronouncements to designate election winners.
He stated: “Our country has been doing, very little positively and very much negatively. In the last few days, I have been thinking as a former military officer and as a civilian since I have served five presidents.
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“Our electoral process is shambolic, nonsensical and makes the country nosediving. It is the manipulation of the system.
“A glitch on the day of the election is unforgivable but the INEC chairman told us they were ready but with what happened, generations to come will never forgive him.
“The most contentious issue in Nigeria today is the judiciary, it is one of the pillars of government. Is it right for the judiciary to tell us who won or lost the election? What we understand by democracy is Government of the people by the people and for the people but in our own case it shouldn’t be Government of the judiciary by the judiciary and for the judiciary. Is that democratic?
“It is the will of the people that should prevail. If you discover any wrong, ask them to go back and conduct a fresh election even if it takes a hundred times. The job of the judiciary is not to tell us who lost or who won.”
Recall that in a statement released on Monday, the tribunal said it would rule on the petitions contesting the Independent National Electoral Commission‘s announcement that Bola Tinubu had won the 2023 presidential election on Wednesday.
