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The Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) on Wednesday affirmed the victory of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the February 25 presidential poll. In a unanimous decision, a panel of five justices, comprising Justice Haruna Tsammani, Justice Stephen Jonah Adah, Justice Monsurat Bolaji-Yusuf, Justice Moses Ugo and Justice Abba Mohammed, dismissed the petitions filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, the Labour Party (LP) and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and the Allied Peoples Movement challenging the declaration of Tinubu as the winner of the 2023 presidential poll for lack of merit.
Some of the highlights of the judgement that lasted for several hours are as follows: President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima are fit, proper and qualified to be elected as President and Vice President of Nigeria; the non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 as alleged by Peter Obi and his party are unfounded; the electronic transmission of election results is not compulsory; getting 25 percent of votes in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is not compulsory and that membership of a political party is a private affair of the party as well as the conduct and outcome of its primary election.
Expectedly, President Bola Tinubu and his teeming supporters have lauded the decision of the court. The elated president who is in New Delhi, India, attending the G20 summit hailed the judgement. At the same time the PDP and LP and their presidential candidates have decried the judgement and vowed to appeal against the ruling hailed by a section of the polity as one of the best judgements ever given by a presidential election petition court in the country.
While some eminent lawyers believe that the judgement will elevate election jurisprudence, others firmly believe that the ruling will hurt electoral jurisprudence to the point of extinction. Other critics of the proceedings are of the view that there was too much emphasis on technicalities than the substance of law. Some lawyers argued that some parties to the matter lost on pleadings because they failed to prove their case beyond reasonable doubt. Since the losers have vowed to appeal the ruling of the PEPC, it is likely that the matter will progress to the Supreme Court, which is the final bus stop for such election matters.
Therefore, the last has not been heard on the contentious and highly flawed 2023 presidential election. As such, it is not yet dancing time for Tinubu and his camp until the apex court decides on the matter. If they want to dance, let them dance ‘small, small’ and laugh ‘small, small’ until the matter is over. Until then, it is not yet the time for a throaty and hilarious laughter for them. And for the losers, the matter is not over until it is over. They must prepare well in the appeal and avoid some errors noticed at the tribunal level.
As it stands, it is only time that will tell which side will emerge victorious finally. For Tinubu, the judgement, no matter what the losers are saying, has given him the much-needed respite or room to concentrate on governance now that the PEPC has affirmed his election as the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. While the matter lasts, he should use the ample opportunity provided by his victory affirmation to shine, to demonstrate that he was adequately prepared for the job, to prove that he has what it takes to preside over a complex country like Nigeria and to fulfill the promises he made to Nigerians during the campaigns.
Nigerians are keenly watching and the global community are also watching. This is not the time for theatrics, sophistry, rhetoric or the usual Nigerian blame game of past administrations, especially the PDP administration. This is the time for action, real action. It is time for work, work and work. It is also time for national healing and uniting the country after a fractious and contentious poll. Managing the opposition and those who didn’t vote for him must be prioritized. Former leader, President Muhammadu Buhari did not manage the losers and those who didn’t vote for him well. Let Tinubu learn from his avoidable mistakes in managing diversity.
The Wednesday judgement day was like a holiday for many Nigerians who stayed glued to their television sets from about 9 am to 10 pm to witness the PEPC proceedings adjudged to be very laborious and boring. It was apparent that the eyes of Nigerians were on the judiciary as the justices took all of us to all the details of the judgement rituals in spite of the official resentment that trailed the famous “All eyes on the judiciary” billboards. And for months ahead, all eyes will still be on the judiciary until the matter is over.
The live telecast of the proceedings is highly commendable. It gave the ruling a badge of transparency even as the faces of the eminent justices were not shown on the television, probably for some reasons not yet made public. Whatever the reason, the justices displayed some level of seriousness and maturity while giving the verdict. All of us may not agree with some of their decisions, but they have done their job. Those who feel aggrieved have the right of appeal. That is the beauty of our judicial system. But in all, let justice prevail.
Back to the PEPC proceedings. The judgement attracted so many prominent Nigerians, politicians, state governors, party supporters, Nollywood actors and legal luminaries and journalists. The matter lasted for so long that many of those in the court, including lawyers, journalists and politicians dozed off at intervals. While the proceedings lasted, the atmosphere was somber and the silence in the court could be felt and even touched as the justices deliver the verdict one by one.
The roll call included Vice President Kashi Shettima, the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu and LP Chairman Julius Abure. Others were Governors Hope Uzodinma of Imo State, Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, Abiodun Oyebanji of Ekiti State, LP Chieftain, Yunusa Tanko, Aisha Yesuf, Nollywood actors, Zack Orji, Yul Edochie and others.
Whether the PEPC ruling serves the course of justice or not is debatable. Whether legal justice amounts to social justice is also open to debate. Will the judiciary continue to decide the outcome of our elections? Will the PEPC ruling pass the test of the people’s court? Moving forward, is there no way all election matters can be decided before the winners are inaugurated? The ruling that membership of political parties and the conduct of its primaries is the private affair of each party is good. The ruling that the getting 25 percent vote in FCT is not mandatory will be further interrogated at the Supreme Court.
Also, the ruling that the transmission of election results electronically is not compulsory and that INEC can transmit results any way it likes is not tidy. It gives the electoral umpire the room to actually tamper and even manipulate the results. Our electoral laws need to be reviewed and clearly worded to avoid unnecessary ambiguities. Our electoral system still needs total overhauling.
The country also should be restructured in a way that certain groups will not be permanently excluded from the presidency as we have witnessed since 1999. The seeming exclusion of the South East region from the country’s highest seat of power by the owners of Nigeria since 1970 portends great danger for the corporate existence of the country. The matter should be urgently interrogated at the highest level.
