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By Chukwudi Nweje
A coalition of civil societies and leaders of thoughts, under the aegis of Common Voice (CV) on Sunday called on the Federal Government to stream the various 2023 election cases before the Election Petition Tribunal (EPL) live to Nigerians.
The group also demanded that the cases receive accelerated hearing and the judgements should be delivered before the May29 scheduled date to inaugurate the new administration.
It said, “We appeal to the Chief Justice of Nigeria to use his discretion to ensure that election petition cases in court are made truly public by ensuring television coverage of proceedings and that the election petitions in court are adjudicated before the swearing in date of May 29, 2023”
A statement issued by prof Anthony Kila, Director at the Centre for International Advanced and Professional Studies (CIAPS), noted that the 2023 elections left Nigerians divided with parts of the country flawed, while the other perceive the polls as free and fair and that an open view hearing will douse the tension in the country, restore unity and legitimise the incoming government.
He said, “The recently concluded 2023 elections have left Nigeria in a very divisive state with a significant part of the country considering the elections free and argue that elections results reflect the wishes of the people while another significant part of the country considers the elections highly flawed and considers the results unacceptable and that the dualism is causing a lot of tension in the country.
“The best way to douse the tension in the country, restore unity and legitimize the incoming government is to make sure that all parts get a convincing, transparent, and timely adjudication of electoral cases that will give all sides in the country a sense of clarity and justice that will bring an end to all ongoing controversies.”
Kila noted that CV is a nonpartisan platform built to enable Citizens and Consumers express their views on issues concerning their lives to Government and Corporations and called on Nigerians ta to sign up to the appeal on comonvoiceng.
He stated that CV’s call has received the support of leading lawyers in Nigeria including human rights activist, Femi Falana (SAN) and National President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Yakubu Maikyau.
“Leading human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) as well as National President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Yakubu Maikyau have backed calls for the televising of the presidential election tribunal proceedings,” he stated.
