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You should’ve gotten used to losing election by now, Tinubu tells Atiku
Atiku Abubakar, is not new to losing elections, having lost virtually all previous contests he entered into, especially for presidency in the last 30 years, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has said.
Tinubu, who was declared the winner of the February 25 presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), while replying the former Vice President, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who came second, in his petition at the Court of Appeal Abuja, sitting at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT), reminded that he had always lost in his bid to lead the country since 1993.
In his response filed on Wednesday night by his team of lawyers led by Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), Tinubu asked Atiku not to see his loss at the last election as strange, arguing that it would have been a miracle for the PDP and its candidate to win in view of the balkanization of the party before and during the election.
He noted: “The 1st petitioner (Atiku) has been consistently contesting and losing successive presidential elections in Nigeria since 1993, whether at the party primary election level or at the general election; including 1993, When he lost the Social Democratic Party (SDP) primary election to The late Chief M.K.O Abiola; 2007, when he lost the presidential election to the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua; 2011, when he lost the Peoples Democratic Party presidential primary election to President Goodluck Jonathan; 2015, when he lost the APC primary election to President Muhammadu Buhari; 2019, when he lost the Presidential election to President Muhammadu Buhari; and now, 2023, When he has again, lost the presidential election to the 2nd respondent (Tinubu).
“It was/is not a surprise and/or not by accident that the electorate rejected the 1st petitioner at the polls of the presidential Election held on 25th February, 2023,” Tinubu said.
He noted that Atiku was without a stable political platform and has lost majority of his key supporters, in view of his habit of jumping from one political party to another.
Tinubu equally noted that Atiku’s emergence as PDP’s candidate fueled the crisis in the party, resulting in five of its sitting governors resolving to work against him and ensure he lost.
The President-elect said these in his response to the petition filed by Atiku and the PDP before the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC), in which they are praying to be declared the winner or for the court to order a rerun.
He faulted the competence of the petition, describing it as not only frivolous, but an abuse of the process of court, the PDP having earlier filed a suit at the Supreme Court, through some of its governors, demanding the cancellation of the election.
He argued that the PDP and Atiku cannot maintain two cases on the same issue in different courts at the same time.
Tinubu noted that on February 28, the PDP through its governors in Adamawa, Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo and Sokoto states filed a suit at the Supreme Court, demanding among others, that the February 25 presidential election be cancelled.
‘The plaintiffs attacked INEC for not following its Manual and Regulations in the conduct of the election, and also complained of glitches, which is also the thrust of their petition.
“While the originating summons (in the suit before the Supreme Court) was filed on 28th February, 2023, this petition was filed on 21st March, 2023.
“The petitioners herein, through themselves and/or their proxies filed the originating summons at the Supreme Court, before filing this petition.
“The petitioners are maintaining two processes in respect of the same subject and/or complaint of theirs, against the conduct of the presidential election held on 25th February, 2023.
“This latter petition is abusive of the originating summons filed at the Supreme Court and is liable to be dismissed in limine,” he said.
Tinubu also faulted the competence of the petition on the grounds that Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) were excluded despite the fact that the petitioners were contesting the results from the states won by LP and NNPP.
“The petitioners complained about outcome of the election in Abia, Anambra, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Enugu, Imo, Kano, Plateau and Lagos states.
“The 2nd respondent (Tinubu) was not declared as the overall winner in any of the states aforementioned.
“Mr. Peter Gregory Obi of the Labour Party was declared the overall winner of the election in Abia, Anambra, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Enugu, Imo, Plateau and Lagos states, while Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party Was declared winner of the election in Kano State.
“None of Labour Party, Peter Gregory Obi, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, and New Nigeria People’s Party has been joined as a party to this petition.
“The 2nd respondent cannot be made willy-nilly to defend any infraction allegedly committed in any of the states afore-mentioned.
“The petitioners are querying the result of elections in all the states where they won the election, including but not limited to Adamawa, Bauchi, Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Gombe, Yobe, Sokoto, Osun, Kebbi and Katsina states, without making themselves co-respondents to the petition; whereas, under Section 133(2) of the Electoral Act, 2022, a party whose election is Being challenged shall be made a respondent.”
The Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi says he is aware of some evil designs against himself and his supporters in the coming months.
The former Anambra State governor disclosed this in a statement released on his verified Twitter handle on Monday, May 29, 2023.
The release of the statement coincided with the inauguration of Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as Nigeria’s President at the Eagle Square in Abuja.
I am aware of some evil designs being hatched against me and my supporters in the coming months. Efforts will be made to taint my image. Campaigns of calumny are being perfected to defame my character and diminish my hard-earned integrity.
— Peter Obi (@PeterObi) May 28, 2023
See full statement:
For all Nigerians, this is a time for deep reflection. It is also a time to re-examine our assumptions, even as we reaffirm our hopes. Let us calmly review our aspirations, in order to recalibrate our expectations and pin down the causes of our missed opportunities and disappointments.
We stand at that critical moment in time when, as a people, we must collectively come to grips with the reality of our injured destiny as well as the reasons for that injury. It is for us to reassess our plight as a young democracy and identify clear pathways to a better and greater future for us all. As we await the verdict of the election tribunal, I urge all Nigerians to use this opportunity to renew their commitment to the Nigerian ideal. That ideal remains noble and worth every sacrifice we can make.
Nigeria remains our only patrimony and it is a patrimony we must protect, rather than violate. We have no other nation but this, so let us remain committed to rescuing and rebuilding it.
The judiciary is part of the democratic enterprise and a critical governance tool for determining the propriety of the decisions and actions of every citizen and every institution of state. To that extent, and for that reason, I urge everyone to treat it with the respect and dignity it deserves.
We expect that the Nigerian judiciary will use the election cases now before it to reaffirm its independence and integrity. It has to do so, for all our sakes and for itself.
Nigerians must, therefore, remain peaceful and law abiding. No matter the depth of anyone’s reservations about what is going on in the polity today, no matter the real and imagined provocations, and no matter the disagreement out there, we should remember that this will not last forever.
I remain committed, and untiring, in my determination to work with like-minded fellow Nigerians to end the curse of missed opportunities and squandered hope that has become our lot here.
I will never shrink from that original commitment, because I firmly believe that we must change from the present politics of criminality, and corruption, in order to make a new Nigeria possible.
I call on fellow Nigerians, especially the youths to remain steadfast, calm, patient, and peaceful. Our journey may be long and difficult but it is worth it in every way. Victory is assured.
We have to work together to move our beautiful country from corruption and criminality to a center of productivity rather than aimless consumption.
I am aware of some evil designs being hatched against me and my supporters in the coming months. Efforts will be made to taint my image. Campaigns of calumny are being perfected to defame my character and diminish my hard-earned integrity.
These schemes will aim at degrading our support base and confusing the public. But, no evil campaign will alter the substance of my character; nor diminish my patriotic commitment to a better Nigeria. It is about the future of our youths. it is about ending the Years of Locust.
In all of this, I thank Nigerians, our great party (LP) and the media. The latter, as the Fourth Estate of the realm, has remained a trusted ally.
This Estate must continue to guide our people on the immense promise of a future in a new Nigeria.
God bless Nigeria and protect the troops keeping us safe in this season of vaulting insecurity.
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria. –PO
Channels
James Faleke, lawmaker and Secretary of the now defunct All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APC-PCC), has revealed that President Bola Tinubu would unveil members of his cabinet within 60 days.
Channels Television, which quoted him as saying on Monday, at the inauguration of of Tinubu and Kashim Shettima as president and vice-president of Nigeria was underway at the Eagle Square in Abuja, said the President, would , unveil his cabinet as soon as possible.
Faleke, who promised that the new President would bring a different approach to power, was quoted as saying: “Of course, within 60 days, that’s what the law says. He can announce anytime but I just know he must do it within 60 days.”
Eradication of terrorism, waging war against corruption and battling the crippling poverty in Nigeria, would form the fulcrum of a new Nigeria President Bola Tinubu, says he would strive to put in place as his new government began hours ago after assuming the reins of power as the 16th President, after Muhammadu Buhari handed over to him at an elaborate ceremony at the Eagle Square, Abuja, on Monday.
Vowing to defend Nigeria from all forms of terror, as well as end extreme poverty in the country, Tinubu, told Nigerians: “I will do that through job creation and food security and end to extreme poverty. I will ensure that corruption is tacked by strenghtening anti-corruption agencies.”
He also promised that his administration would discourage corruption through the introduction of a credit culture, stating: “Our government will continue to take proactive steps such as championing a credit culture to discourage corruption while strengthening the effectiveness and efficiency of the various anti-corruption agencies.”
It was also on a day the President, who had during his presidential campaigns, promised Nigerians that he would remove subsidy on petroleum products, made good his words by announcing suspension on them, adding that the era of payments on fuel was gone, as the 2023 Budget made no provision for fuel subsidy “and more so, subsidy payment is no longer justifiable.”
Obi to Nigerians: Don’t be despaired, your mandate won’t be lost
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Tinubu: My stand on corruption, insecurity *How I’ll banish poverty in Nigeria
In the military, INEC boss and his team would be executed – Bode George *Why put Tinubu’s boy in charge of IT?
I’ve paid a price for joining Obi to rescue Nigeria – Datti-Ahmed *Weeps on TV
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