Peter Obi, the Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, has hinted that he may be back again in 2027 to challenge President Bola Tinubu in another contest.
Obi, while addressing the media Monday in Abuja in the wake of the ruling of the Supreme Court, which dismissed his petition against the election of President Tinubu said it was not the end of the road for a new Nigeria. “We shall endure, persist until we reaches our destination because one Nigeria is our destination,” he noted in his speech.
He urged the Obidient Movement to reenergise for the journey ahead:” Nigerians heard you, the world has taken note and we will not forget easily. We shall endure, persist until we reach our destination because new Nigeria is our destination. A destination is not an event.”
Speaking on the Supreme Court judgement he said the justices have given a disturbing adverse opinion on its commitment to truth and justice.
” 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.
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.”
