Olabode George, a former national vice-chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has voiced his discontent with the judiciary’s role in Nigerian electoral problems.
According to the elder statesman, it shouldn’t be up to the judiciary to declare an election’s winner to Nigerians.
He argued that the Independent National Electoral Commission, or INEC, ought to be able to stand its ground in making the right choice at all costs, even if doing so necessitates holding numerous elections.
On Monday, the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal said that it was prepared to rule on the petitions submitted in the wake of the 2023 presidential election.
The election results of Bola Tinubu, as announced by INEC on March 1, 2023, are being contested by Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
George said that it is unjust for Nigerians to wait for a court to announce an election’s winner and cautioned the courts against removing the people’s right to do so.
“The most contentious issue in Nigeria today is the judiciary, it is one of the pillars of government,” he said in a press briefing in Lagos on Monday.
“Is it right for the judiciary to tell us who won or lost the election? What we understand by democracy is government of the people by the people and for the people but in our own case, it shouldn’t be government of the judiciary by the judiciary and for the judiciary. Is that democratic?
“It is the will of the people that should prevail. If you discover any wrong, ask them to go back and conduct a fresh election even if it takes a hundred times. The job of the judiciary is not to tell us who lost or who won.”