Remarks at a Press Conference by Mr. Peter Gregory Obi, CON Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party on The Supreme Court Judgment of 26th October, 2023 On the 2023 Nigeria Presidential Election Held in Abuja, FCT, on [Monday 6th November, 2023
Protocols,
1.Fellow countrymen and women. Gentlemen of the Media, Good day and
welcome to this press conference.Kindly permit me to make some brief remarks on
the recent ruling of the Supreme Court, the highest court in Nigeria.
2. About a fortnight ago, I was
traveling abroad on a prior scheduled engagement when I received the notice
that the Supreme Court would give judgment on Thursday 26th October 2023 on our
challenge of the ruling of the
Presidential Election Petitions
Court (PEPC). That judgment has since been delivered as
scheduled. The leadership of the Labour Party has already pronounced its
position on the judgment.
3. As someone who has previously benefited from the rulings of the Supreme Court on electoral matters, I have, after a period of deep and sober reflection, decided to personally and formally react to the recent judgment as most Nigerians have. Because we are confronted with very weighty issues of national interest, I will speak forthrightly. As students young lads at CKC, Onitsha, we were taught values and admonished to always; “choose the harder right, instead of the easier wrong.”
4. Setting legal issues aside,
the Supreme Court exhibited a disturbing aversion to public opinion just as it abandoned
its responsibility as a court of law and policy. It is, therefore, with great
dismay that I observe that the Court’s
decision contradicts the
overwhelming evidence of election
rigging, false claim
of a technical
glitch, substantial non-compliance with rules set by INEC itself
as well as matters of perjury,
identity theft, and forgery that
have been brought to light in the course of this election matter. These were
hefty allegations that should not to be treated
with levity.
More appalling, the
Supreme Court judgment willfully condoned breaches of the
Constitution relative to established qualifications and
parameters for candidates
in presidential elections. With this
counter-intuitive judgment, the
Supreme Court has transferred a
heavy moral burden
from the courtrooms
to our national conscience. Our
young democracy is ultimately the main victim and casualty of the courtroom
drama.
5. 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. 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.
6. In disagreeing very strongly
with the ruling of both the Presidential Petitions Court (PEPC) and the Supreme
Court on the outcome of the 25th February 2023 Presidential election as
declared by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as democrats who
believe in the rule of law, we recognize that the Supreme Court is the end
stage of the quest for legal closure to the matter. As a party and as
candidates, Datti and I have now exhausted all legal and constitutional
remedies available to us. However, this end is only another beginning in our
quest for the vindication of the hope of the common man for a better country.
After all, sovereignty belongs to the people! If only for historical purposes,
it behooves us to place our disagreement with and deep reservations about this
judgment on public record.
7. We have long been aware of how weak national institutions have negatively affected our democracy. This year 2023 has been quite remarkable and revealing. INEC has displayed incompetence in the conduct of its statutory duty. The judiciary has largely acted in defiance of constitutional tenets, precedents, and established ground rules. Political expediency has preceded judicial responsibility. A mechanical application of technicalities has superseded the pursuit of justice and fairness. Both INEC and the Supreme Court as the referees, respectively shifted the goalposts in the middle of the game.
8. 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.
9. Going
forward, we in
the Labour Party
and the Obidient Movement are now effectively in
opposition. We are glad that the nation has
heard us loud
and clear. We
shall now expand
the confines of our message of hope to the rest of the country. We shall
meet the people in the places where they feel pain and answer their needs for hope. At marketplaces, motor parks, town halls, board rooms, and
university and college
campuses, we all
carry and deliver the message of
a new Nigeria. As stake holders and elected Labour Party officials, we shall
remain loyal to our manifesto.We will continue to canvas for good governance
and focus on issues that promote national interest, unity, and cohesion. We
will continue to give primacy
to our Constitution, the
rule of law,
and the protection of
ordered liberties. We
will offer the
checks and balances required
in a functional
democracy and vie
robustly in forthcoming
elections to elect those who share our vision of a new Nigeria.
10. Given our present national
circumstances, there is a compelling need for
a strong
political opposition. We
shall, therefore, remain
in opposition, especially because
of the policies
and the governance modalities that
we in the
Labour Party campaigned
for, especially reducing the
cost of governance, moving the nation from consumption to production, reducing
inflation, ending insecurity, promoting the rule of law, guaranteeing the
responsibility to protect,
and stabilizing the Nigerian currency;
are clearly not
the priorities of
the present administration nor
is it interested in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
11. If there is one thing that
has immensely gladdened my heart in the course of the struggle of the past 18
months, it is the passionate desire of our people, especially our young people
from across ethnic and religious divides, to construct a new and restructured
Nigeria that will work for all Nigerians. That goal remains my guiding light
and abiding inspiration.
12. Finally, I thank all
Nigerians who believed in what is now only a revolution postponed. We deeply
appreciate the unalloyed non-partisan moral support millions of youth and
ordinary Nigerians across ethnic, religious, and geopolitical divides have continued
to give to Dr. Datti Baba-Ahmed and me.
13. We
extend our heartfelt
gratitude to the
Nigerians who have supported this mission from the onset. We salute the leadership and members of the
Labour Party, the Obidient Movement, the Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign
Council, Nigerians in
the Diaspora, Support Groups, and all people of goodwill
who worked diligently and hoped for the realization of the beginnings of a New
Nigeria in this election cycle.
14. Nigerians who supported our
cause have done so out of patriotism and
their sincere conviction
that our nation
requires and deserves dedicated and visionary leaders who
will lead Nigeria toward a brighter future. The energy and dedication of Nigerian Youths and the Obedient Movement
have been simply amazing. I appreciate and salute them! I want to assure them
that this is not the end of our journey; but in fact, the beginning. Nigeria
heard you. The world has taken note and will not forget so easily. We shall
endure, persist, until we get to our destination because a new Nigeria is our
destination. A destination not an event.
15. We thank, in a special way,
our legal team. We also thank our elder States-Men, whose wise counsel were
immeasurable To them, we wish to state
unequivocally that this
judicial outcome –
an obvious misrepresentation of
substantial justice – has by no means foreclosed the realization of a new
Nigeria that is Possible.
16. On a personal note, I take
personal pride and express gratitude to those who share our vision; and who
have also exhibited rare courage to challenge the nefarious system, the
genuineness of individuals’ identities and
their defining and
qualifying particulars up
to the highest
extent allowed by law. Nigeria holds out hope of infinite possibilities
leading to our desirable greatness.
I remain consistent
in my belief
in the possibility of a new
Nigeria built on character competence, capacity, compassion, integrity, and
respect for the rule of law based on justice and fairness.
17. God bless us all. God bless
the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Mr. Peter Gregory Obi, CON
Presidential Candidate of Labour Party.
Obi –Datti Campaign Organization
Office Abuja, FCT.Monday 6th November 2023.
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Well done my Leaders
ReplyDeleteWhen Peter Obi was returned as elected Governor by the Supreme Court, the judiciary did a good job
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