Politics

Obi: Why I was absent at Supreme Court

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, has disclosed the reasons behind his absence at the Supreme Court while delivering judgement on the February 25 presidential poll.

The Star recalls that the Supreme Court, on October 26, dismissed the appeal filed by Obi for lacking merit and affirmed President Bola Tinubu as the winner of the 2023 presidential election.

The presiding judge, Justice John Okoro, stated that the only difference between the appeals of Obi and the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, was the issue of double nomination of Vice President Kashim Shettima.

Justice Okoro declared that the issue had been determined in favour of Shettima.

However, Obi, while speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Monday, November 6, said he was travelling abroad when he was informed that the Supreme Court would deliver judgement on October 26.

He said: “About a fortnight ago, I was travelling abroad on a prior scheduled engagement when I received the notice that the Supreme Court would give judgement on Thursday 26th October 2023 on our challenge of the ruling of the Presidential Election Petitions Court (PEPC). That judgement has since been delivered as scheduled.

“The leadership of the Labour Party has already pronounced its position on the judgement.

“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 judgement 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’.”

Obi, therefore, described the judgement as a breach of the confidence of Nigerians in the judiciary, saying the apex court’s verdict condoned breaches of the Nigerian Constitution.

The former governor of Anambra State added that the judgement contradicted the evidence of rigging and other electoral malpractice that marred the 2023 presidential election.

“Without equivocation, this judgement 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,” Obi stated.

The Star