Remarks at a Press Conference by Mr. Peter Gregory Obi, CON, Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party on The Supreme Court Judgment of 26th October, 2023 On the 2023 Nigeria Presidential Election Held in Abuja, FCT, on Monday 6th November, 2023
1.Fellow countrymen and
women. Gentlemen of the Media, Good day and welcome to this press conference. Kindly
permit me to make some brief remarks on the recent ruling of the Supreme Court,
the highest court in Nigeria.
2. About a fortnight ago, I was traveling abroad on a prior scheduled engagement when I received the notice that the Supreme Court would give judgment on Thursday 26th October 2023 on our challenge of the ruling of the Presidential Election Petitions Court (PEPC). That judgment has since been delivered as scheduled. The leadership of the Labour Party has already pronounced its position on the judgment.
3. As someone who has previously
benefited from the rulings of the Supreme Court on electoral matters, I have,
after a period of deep and sober reflection, decided to personally and formally
react to the recent judgment as most Nigerians have. Because we are confronted
with very weighty issues
of national interest, I
will speak forthrightly. As
students young lads at
CKC, Onitsha, we were taught values and
admonished to always; “choose the harder right, instead of the easier
wrong.”
4. Setting legal issues aside, the Supreme Court exhibited a disturbing aversion to public opinion just as it abandoned its responsibility as a court of law and policy. It is, therefore, with great dismay that I observe that the Court’s decision contradicts the overwhelming evidence of election rigging, false claim of a technical glitch, substantial non-compliance with rules set by INEC itself as well as matters of perjury, identity theft, and forgery that have been brought to light in the course of this election matter. These were hefty allegations that should not to be treated with levity. More appalling, the Supreme Court judgment willfully condoned breaches of the Constitution relative to established qualifications and parameters for candidates in presidential elections. With this counter-intuitive judgment, the Supreme Court has transferred a heavy moral burden from the courtrooms to our national conscience. Our young democracy is ultimately the main victim and casualty of the courtroom drama.
5. Without equivocation, this
judgment amounts to a total breach of the confidence the Nigerian people have
in our judiciary. To that extent, it is a show of unreasonable
force against the very Nigerian people from whom the power of
the Constitution derives. This Supreme Court ruling may represent the state of
the law in 2023 but not the present demand for substantive
justice. The judgment mixed
principles and precepts. Indeed, the rationale and
premise of the Supreme Court judgment, have become clearer in the light of the
deep revealing and troubling valedictory remarks
by Hon. Justice Musa
Dattijo Muhammad, (JSC) on Friday 27th October 2023.
6. In disagreeing very strongly
with the ruling of both the Presidential Petitions Court (PEPC) and the Supreme
Court on the outcome of the 25th February 2023 Presidential election as
declared by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as democrats who
believe in the rule of law, we recognize that the Supreme Court is the end
stage of the quest for legal closure to the matter. As a party and as
candidates, Datti and I have now exhausted all legal and constitutional
remedies available to us. However, this end is only another beginning in our
quest for the vindication of the hope of the common man for a better country.
After all, sovereignty belongs to the people! If only for historical purposes,
it behooves us to place our disagreement with and deep reservations about this
judgment on public record.
7. We have long been aware of how weak national institutions have negatively affected our democracy. This year 2023 has been quite remarkable and revealing. INEC has displayed incompetence in the conduct of its statutory duty. The judiciary has largely acted in defiance of constitutional tenets, precedents, and established ground rules. Political expediency has preceded judicial responsibility. A mechanical application of technicalities has superseded the pursuit of justice and fairness. Both INEC and the Supreme Court as the referees, respectively shifted the goalposts in the middle of the game.
8. Where the value and import of the recent Supreme Court ruling
ends is where our
commitment to a New
Nigeria begins. Our mission and mandate remain
unchanged. From the very onset, our mission has been more about enthroning a
new Nigeria. It is a new nation where things work, where the country is led
from its present waste and consumption orientation to a production-driven
economy. Our commitment is to
a nation anchored on
the principles of prudent management of resources
to quickly pull millions out of
multidimensional poverty, ensuring
transparency and accountability in
the equitable distribution of
opportunities, resources, and privileges. In the new Nigeria, we aim to address
all unmet needs by showing compassion for all those left behind by the present
system.
9. Going
forward, we in the
Labour Party and the Obidient
Movement are now effectively in opposition. We are glad that the nation
has heard us loud and
clear. We shall now
expand the confines of our message of hope to the rest of the
country. We shall meet the people in the places where they feel pain and answer
their needs for hope. At marketplaces, motor parks, town halls,
board rooms, and university and
college campuses, we all
carry and deliver the message of a new Nigeria. As stake holders
and elected Labour Party officials, we shall remain loyal to our manifesto.We
will continue to canvas for good governance and focus on issues that promote
national interest, unity, and cohesion. We will continue to
give primacy to our
Constitution, the rule of
law, and the protection of
ordered liberties. We will
offer the checks and balances
required in a functional
democracy and vie robustly in
forthcoming elections to elect those who share our vision of a new Nigeria.
10. Given our present national
circumstances, there is a compelling need for a
strong political opposition. We
shall, therefore, remain in
opposition, especially because
of the policies and
the governance modalities that
we in the Labour
Party campaigned for, especially reducing
the cost of governance, moving the nation from consumption to production,
reducing inflation, ending insecurity, promoting the rule of law,
guaranteeing the responsibility
to protect, and stabilizing the
Nigerian currency; are clearly
not the priorities of the
present administration nor is it interested in achieving Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs).
11. If there is one thing that
has immensely gladdened my heart in the course of the struggle of the past 18
months, it is the passionate desire of our people, especially our young people
from across ethnic and religious divides, to construct a new and restructured
Nigeria that will work for all Nigerians. That goal remains my guiding light
and abiding inspiration.
12. Finally, I thank all
Nigerians who believed in what is now only a revolution postponed. We deeply
appreciate the unalloyed non-partisan moral support millions of youth and
ordinary Nigerians across ethnic, religious, and geopolitical divides have
continued to give to Dr. Datti Baba-Ahmed and me.
13. We
extend our heartfelt gratitude
to the Nigerians who have
supported this mission from the onset. We salute the
leadership and members of the Labour Party, the Obidient Movement, the
Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Council,
Nigerians in the
Diaspora, Support Groups, and all people of goodwill who worked
diligently and hoped for the realization of the beginnings of a New Nigeria in
this election cycle.
14. Nigerians who supported our
cause have done so out of patriotism and their
sincere conviction that our
nation requires and deserves dedicated and
visionary leaders who will lead Nigeria toward a brighter future. The energy
and dedication of Nigerian Youths and the Obedient Movement have been simply
amazing. I appreciate and salute them! I want to assure them that this is not
the end of our journey; but in fact, the beginning. Nigeria heard you. The
world has taken note and will not forget so easily. We shall endure, persist,
until we get to our destination because a new Nigeria is our destination. A
destination not an event.
15. We thank, in a special way,
our legal team. We also thank our elder States-Men, whose wise counsel were
immeasurable To them, we wish to state
unequivocally that this
judicial outcome – an obvious
misrepresentation of substantial justice – has by no means foreclosed the
realization of a new Nigeria that is Possible.
16. On a personal note, I take
personal pride and express gratitude to those who share our vision; and who
have also exhibited rare courage to challenge the nefarious system, the
genuineness of individuals’ identities and their defining
and qualifying particulars up to the
highest extent allowed by law. Nigeria holds out hope of infinite
possibilities leading to our desirable
greatness. I remain consistent
in my belief in the possibility
of a new Nigeria built on character competence, capacity, compassion,
integrity, and respect for the rule of law based on justice and fairness.
17. God bless us all. God bless
the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Mr. Peter Gregory Obi, CON
Presidential Candidate of Labour Party.
Obi –Datti Campaign Organization
Office Abuja, FCT.
Monday 6th November 2023.
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