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From Scholastica Onyeka, Makurdi
As the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, (PEPT), commences pre hearing session in the petitions challenging the declaration of Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), as the president elect, Nigerians in Benue state have urged the tribunal to ensure that justice is not just done but done to the letter.
Some of the residents who spoke to Daily Sun pointed out that Nigerians went to the polls and elected a president of their choice but were shortchanged along the line.
They urged the tribunal to ensure that justice was done by looking into the issues and righting the wrongs.
Speaking to our correspondent in Makurdi, Engr Victor Ukaha said “My crave and desire is that the tribunal should right the wrong that have been done to Nigerians. Nigerians exercised their franchise by electing a candidate of their choice but from all indications, the aspirations of Nigerians were shortchanged by INEC. INEC by all indications did a very shoddy job.
“The expectation of Nigerians like me is that the tribunal will look at the issues that are coming out from that election and do the heedful.
“The electoral act was amended and it gave a lot of us course to have hope that the right thing will be done but the way it went left much to be desired.”
Ukaha who is the Commissioner for Rural Development in Benue state recalled by that few weeks to the election, Nigerians had raised alarm that BVAS was not going to work and results would not be transmitted in real time, “but INEC told Nigerians that what we were hearing was rumours, that they were prepared to ensure that the correct thing was done, but never did.
” It appeared that all the while they were pacifying us, they had made up their mind that they were not going to use the BVAS. It’s a big time fraud and its painful,” he added.
Ukaha who cautioned that the manner of politics being played in Nigeria will affect everybody including the people who, today, seem to be powerful, said “Nations don’t grow by choosing what laws they would like to obey but they get strong by building institutions that are stronger than individuals, that work for the good of majority of the people and allow for full participation of citizens of such country.
“Today we are at another juncture in our history. Depending on where this juncture pushes us, we may either embrace prosperity or embrace poverty.
“In Ghana for instance, the global community is feeling more relaxed to do business with Ghana than with us, you see very important personalities in the global community come to Africa and they exclude us, we are already being treated like lepers and this is essentially because of the politics that we are playing and it is this politics that we are playing that is creating the policies and building the institutions that are making us a nation to be kept at bay.
“The judiciary, they say is the hope of the common man and the average Nigerian like me is hoping that this judiciary will look at the issues that are involved and will leave their so called technicalities and give us a judgement that will put a smile on the face of the average Nigerian.”
While noting that Nigerians will have confidence in the tribunal only when they do the right thing, Ukaha advised the tribunal to stop complaining that Nigerians criticise their judgement saying “They will be going too far trying to prescribe for us how to feel. How we feel is our prerogative. They should only do the right thing. If they do the right thing, they would like what we would say but if they do the wrong thing, they should also learn to live with what we would say, he noted.
Another resident, Archibong Esuene, a media consultant, while noting that the tribunal judges in their opening remarks have promised to ensure that fairness, equity and justice is upheld, said it would be good if they live up to their words.
“We are not expecting anything less than that. The AA has withdrawn their petition and that makes it easier. In the past, it used to be the main party and opposition but now we have others joining in the suit, so we are also expecting a legal brain war and hoping that the learned counsels will do justice on the case and at the end of the day, what will be done will move Nigeria toward and deepen Democracy.
“I also expect that the judges will not dwell too much on technicalities and the counsels would not argue unnecessarily. But that at the end of the day they will do their best to give Nigerians the justice they yearn for,” he said.
Another resident, a civil servant, who didn’t want to be named said she is expecting that the tribunal will be independent and would discharge their duty with the fear of God.
“I expect that their would not be any external influence and I also hope and pray that they would take this assignment serious, find it a necessity to discharge their assignment with the fear of God bearing in mind that it is the future of Nigeria and Nigerians that are at stake.”
