Keyamo disagreed with the clergy’s advice that election winners wait to take the oath of office until any legal challenges to their victory had been resolved.
Festus Keyamo, the Minister of labour and employment, has warned Cardinal John Onaiyekan, the retired Bishop of the Archdiocese of Abuja, about his opposition to the swearing-in of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu on May 29.
When Tinubu was sworn in while his victory in the presidential election on February 25 was still contested at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, the revered Christian clergyman angered the All Progressives Congress (APC) base (PEPT).
Recall that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, and Peter Obi and his Labour Party have each independently petitioned the PEPT to contest the election that resulted in the APC candidate being elected president.
They are requesting, among other things, the exclusion of Tinubu and Kashim Shettima, Tinubu’s running partner, and a complete annulment of the election due to allegations that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) did not follow its own rules for the process.
Onaiyekan suggested on Thursday, May 4, 2023, ‘s Sunrise Daily on Channels Television that it is pointless to swear in Tinubu when legal matters need to be resolved.
“I’m still awaiting word from the court on the election results. The clergyman claimed that being able to swear somebody in while they are still in court doesn’t make much sense.
Keyamo, the spokesperson for the APC presidential campaign council, responded to Onaiyekan’s viewpoint on Tinubu’s win by requesting the esteemed clergyman to stop defaming the Body of Christ.
In a tweet posted on his Twitter account on Thursday night, the Minister declared and reminded the Bishop that the Nigerian constitution is quite explicit about how election petitions should be handled.
“Dear Daddy Onaiyekan, you know we all respect you very much, but your political statements are getting unstatesmanlike,” Keyamo said.
“A politician who also happens to be a Man of God ought to seek to treat everyone equally. When Obasanjo, Yar’Adua, Jonathan, and Buhari were all sworn in as presidents while their cases were still pending in the courts, you didn’t say the same thing.
The candidate whom you and your other religious brethren openly backed lost the election, and you all now feel ashamed and embarrassed, therefore, you have decided to single out this President-Elect @officialABA.
Since the main complaints against previous Presidents-elect have always been that the declared victor did not win the election fairly or was not eligible to contest the election, all objections made to the victory of @officialABAT in court right now (whether it be the 25% votes in FCT or the fake drug issue, etc.) are identical to objections made against those Presidents-elect. Although a single problem might decide a case against a President-elect, no issue that disqualifies a candidate from running can be more important than other matters.
Why all the fuse now, then? Since 1999, it has been a staple of our election process that the announced winners take the oath of office, preventing a void and preventing the imposition of an unlawful measure while the lawsuits are pending.
“My dear father, may I respectfully suggest that going forward, you and your brethren may think twice about plunging into the political fray and refrain from doing so where your children in your congregations find themselves on opposing sides of political divides, so it would be unfair to them for you to take sides publicly.
“The shame to the Body of Christ is too great, and no politician is worthy of involving this revered body in the needless political squabble.” Daddy, is this too much to ask?
