John Cardinal Onaiyekan, a prominent religious figure and former Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, has criticised plans to inaugurate President-elect Bola Tinubu before the election tribunal is finished.
That “doesn’t make much sense,” he said.
Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party are contesting INEC’s announcement of the APC candidate as the victor of the election on February 25 in court (LP). The presidential election tribunal has set the petition hearing date for May 8.
In an interview with Channels Television yesterday, Onaiyekan claimed that the country’s electoral system needed to be reformed since it would result in winners who wouldn’t have the court’s shadow hanging over their heads.
There are court matters that still need to be resolved. We are in an unusual predicament as a result of this. Our newly elected president’s election is being contested, and the court is addressing it. It makes little sense to be swearing in individuals while they are still in court; I am still waiting for the court to inform me who won the election.
“I am aware that it has happened with governors, but the results haven’t always been the best. We need to evaluate our election procedures in order to produce a victor who will be sworn in and who everyone will support.
“Unfortunately, the court is taking more time to make a ruling. The entire election process has to be fully evaluated to make it simpler for winners to emerge who reflect the electorate’s desires. A frequently challenged system needs to be corrected, and we should ascertain the reasons for the contests in all elections.
You’re prejudiced
–Keyamo
The clergyman has been accused of prejudice by Festus Keyamo, state minister for labour and jobs and former top spokesman for the Tinubu campaign council.
The senior attorney said in a tweet that the Cardinal opposed the president-elect because he was not his favourite choice in the elections.
Hey Daddy Onaiyekan, You Know We All Respect You Very Much, But Your Political Comments Are Becoming Unstatesmanlike, He Tweeted.
“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 humiliated; therefore, you have decided to single out this President-Elect @officialABAT.
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 at an all-time high, and no politician is worthy of involving this respectable group in the needless political squabble. Daddy, is this too much to ask?
