Za ku bi hukuncin kotu ko da ba ku yarda da shi ba?

PROTOCOL Good afternoon, Gentlemen of the Press. I am here today to give my official reaction to the judgment delivered yesterday by the Presidential Election Petition Court on the 2023 presidential election. As you already know, I approached the court following the declaration by INEC that the APC and its candidate are the winners of the February 25, Presidential Election. My decision to go to court is anchored in my belief that the court is the sanctuary of justice. The journey of my political career, as you know, holds so much to the courage and fearless decisions of our judiciary. Indeed, I am no stranger to legal battles, and I can say that I have a fair idea of how the court system works. All through my career as a politician, I have been a fighter, and I must say that I have found the judiciary as a worthy pillar to rest on in the pursuit of justice.

Gentlemen of the press, I take great pains to tell you that the decision of the court of first instance on this matter utterly falls far short of that expectation. I am therefore here to tell you that, though the judgment of the court yesterday is respected, it is a judgment that I refuse to accept. I refuse to accept the judgment because I believe that it is bereft of substantial justice. However, the disappointment in the verdict of the court can never destroy my confidence in the judiciary. Consequently, I have asked my lawyers to activate my constitutionally guaranteed rights of appeal to the higher court, which, in the instance, is the Supreme Court. It is my conviction that the electoral process in Nigeria should be devoid of untidy manipulations and that the outcome of every election should be a perfect reflection of the wishes of the electorate. I believe that such is the only way through which our democracy can have a manifest expression of its true meaning. Whether I prevail in this quest or not, the record of my effort in ensuring an order of credible elections in Nigeria shall remain for the future generations to evaluate.

We showed irrefutable evidence of gross irregularities, violence, and manipulations during the elections. We showed incontrovertible evidence that INEC violated the Electoral Act and deliberately sabotaged its own publicly announced processes and procedures in order to illegally declare Tinubu elected. The position of the Supreme Court, even though final, leaves so much unanswered. 
 Even the rebuke by retired Justice Musa Dattijo Muhammad is a confirmation from within the apex court that all is not well with the Supreme Court. The court and indeed the judiciary must never lend itself to politicization as it is currently the norm with nearly every institution in Nigeria. By the way, the strong rebuke of the apex court by the revered Justice, who had meritoriously served for more than four decades, should not be swept under the carpet. The alarm raised by Justice Muhammad and recently, former INEC Chairman, Prof Attahiru Jega, offer Nigerians an explanation into why the electoral and judicial system have become the lost hope of the common man.

And, as they do so, they should ignore whatever the law says and whatever assurances from the leadership of the electoral umpire about what the law says and what they would do in compliance. And they would do so knowing that our courts would approve of their behaviour or at best pretend not to take any notice of it. The third is that if you are robbed of victory, do not bother going to court for redress because your glaring evidence of the robbery will be ignored in favour of the mandate bandit.

Dear @officialABAT, by July next year, your administration will have spent two full years deliberately ignoring a binding judgment of the Supreme Court directing the Federal Government to implement direct FAAC allocation to local governments. This is not delay. It is defiance. Your refusal to act is a calculated political move—using obedience to the law as a bargaining chip to force opposition governors into the APC and to keep governors within your party firmly under your control. In doing so, you have reduced the Constitution to a tool of convenience and governance to partisan bargaining. Let us be clear: Supreme Court judgments are final, not optional. Persistently refusing to enforce one is a direct breach of the Constitution and a violation of the oath you swore to Nigerians. Local governments are the closest arm of government to the people. By withholding their financial autonomy (which ironically you've been trumpeting as a core cardinal policy), you are not weakening governors, you are crippling communities, stalling development, and deepening poverty at the grassroots. Roads remain broken, health centres abandoned, salaries unpaid—not by accident, but by choice.

I welcome the Court of Appeal's decision to stay the execution of the Federal High Court judgment seeking the deregistration of our great party, the ADC, and four other political parties. It is particularly significant that INEC itself initiated the application for the stay. The disturbing spectacle of judicial contradictions and politically charged rulings playing out in our courts has placed the judiciary under intense public scrutiny. As ADC National Chairman, Sen. David Mark, rightly observed, the judiciary itself is now on trial. Any attempt to undermine Nigeria's hard-won democracy through judicial manipulation is a grave danger to the Republic. If our democracy suffers further injury, history will demand accountability from those entrusted with dispensing justice. The judiciary still has an opportunity to redeem itself by standing firmly on the side of the Constitution, the rule of law, and the Nigerian people. -AA