POEM Deepens...
If you had time to study the HE Peter Obi and Labour Party final address on one hand and the HE Atiku Abubakar and the Peoples Democratic Party's own on the other, one would notice a path of unity in almost all arguments. Both addresses were in response to HE Bola Ahmed Tinubu and HE Kashim Shettima's own final address in defence of the heist called the February 25 presidential election conducted by the Prof Mahmood Yakubu-led Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
Both petitioners' sets of legal teams brushed aside the arrogance, provocation and threats from the rabble-rousing team led by Wole Olanipekun, SAN to dwell on issues of their respective petitions. Drawing from both the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the 2022 Electoral Act, both teams cleanly pushed the dagger through the arteries of the Respondents by providing proofs evidently beyond every reasonable doubt in matters relating to non-compliance, Tinubu's drug-related forfeiture business, forgery of certificates, Shettima's double nomination and the matter of 25% votes in the Federal Capital Territory.
Most interesting of the arguments can be enjoyed from digesting the submissions both ventilated while supplying proofs upon proofs, including citations, of the intentions of the drafters of the constitution by the use of *AND* in reference to 25% of the votes cast in at least ⅔ of the 36 states of the Federation and the FCT, Abuja.
Though choosing their different sets of words, both teams arrived at exactly the same conclusion - any president of Nigeria *MUST* obtain at least 25% of the total number of the votes cast at the FCT in addition to other constitutional requirements, to be declared president-elect. Tinubu did not, and both parties are crying foul.
It is significant to note here that even when Atiku and the PDP did not get up to the required 25% votes in FCT, they stoutly defended the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Kudos to Atiku, the PDP and their legal team for insisting on the right thing even when they would not benefit directly from the move. A new Nigeria is indeed POssible!
The Justice Haruna Tsammani-led five-man Tribunal is on the spotlight. Expectations are quite high that they should rise to the occasion and deliver equitable justice. The nation is all eyes as much as the international communities, especially the European Union, who sunk a whopping €38 million into the exercise, having been convinced by Prof Yakubu and his INEC that the election was going to be free, fair and credible.
Tsammani has the yearning chance to clean up the mess of Yakubu and let the country enjoy the confidence of the EU and the watching world. No country lives in isolation from the rest of the world, and a country of over 200 million should not be an exception.
#ANewNigeriaIsPOssible
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