On whether Ahmed Tinubu should be sworn in as Nigeria’s president

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By LaBode Obanor

This depends on whom you ask. To most voters who voted for the opposition parties, PDP and LP inclusive, it is a definite No! Not only because they are the main rivals or the antagonists of the All Progressive Congress (APC), the party of the “president declared”, but because they represent a majority of the voters that cast their ballot on February 25, 2023.

The fact unarguably remained that more people who voted in the recently concluded general election did not vote for the president. So a persuasive argument has been made whether a candidate that scored 35% of the vote, with 65% voting against him, has the mandate to be president. Or whether a candidate that receives less than 50% of the numerical count is eligible to be called president. That is a topic for another day. But first, let’s deal with whether the president-elect or “president-declared” should be sworn in on May 29, 2023.

On March 1, 2023, the election official, INEC, declared Bola Ahmed Tinubu the president-elect of Nigeria after having received the most votes of all the ballots cast, amid controversies surrounding its conduct of the election, including voters suppression, violence, intimidation to prevent people from voting against the ruling party, ballot rigging and snatching and widespread electoral misconducts. And the chief of all was the inability of INEC to upload the election results to its billion naira IRev platform and election servers in real-time. All these bring to question the credibility of INEC as an impartial election referee and whether the agency is suited to declare a winner with verifiable blemish against its character. And whether the nation should not question the truth and acceptability of its announced results.

The vice presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Datti Baba-Ahmed, has stated in absolute terms the unconstitutionality in the declaration of Bola Tinubu as the winner of the February 23 election and called that INEC should not swear him in come this May.

Speaking to reporters, he stated: “….by clear and unambiguous provisions of the Nigerian constitution, which must not be breached, Tinubu has not satisfied the requirement to be declared President-elect. Accordingly, there is no President-elect for Nigeria now. Because the declared one violates the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.” Swearing in a ticket, he continued, “that has not met the constitutional requirement is ending democracy… you cannot swear in people who have not met the constitutional requirement. If you do it, you have done something unlawful and unconstitutional.” Datti concluded.

Supporting Mr. Datti’s position is a formal governor of Anambra State, Mr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife; he believed that either enjoin by the court or in an attempt to fix its image INEC will not swear in Mr. Tinubu. “I do not believe that Tinubu, my friend, will be sworn in as president. If that is done, it would be a disaster, but I think this thing has opened the eyes of Nigerians.

Even Tinubu himself, in the thick of things, is anxious about the current political embroilment surrounding his declaration and he is visibly perturbed that his swearing-in might be truncated or hacked off by his opponents. Speaking through his Director, Public Affairs, and Minister of State Labour and Employment, Mr. Festus Keyamo, Tinubu lamented: “We are aware of the intentions of those engaged in these treasonable and subversive acts. We also know those involved in the many plots being contrived to undermine the transition in particular and democracy in general…they are bent on delegitimizing the new government. Some have made treasonable insinuations and openly called for military take-over. It is for these reasons that they are desperate to incite the people against the incoming Government. The statement continues, “It is perplexing to see that those contesting the results want to be in the courts and on the streets at the same time. However, if their intention is to truncate the inauguration of the President-elect and Vice-President-elect, they should immediately bury the thought.”

Amid this national furor, there is unimpeachable evidence that this election was replete with voter fraud, and widespread government incompetence and sabotage which heightened the ensuing scandal. Even INEC has admitted serious deficiencies in their own BVAS and IRev system impeding their abilities to deliver incontrovertible results. Therefore, the tallies they announced are not credible and should not be believed. But why did they go ahead and announce a bogus number? This is an issue and question for the court. The opposition has rightfully sought redress, and the people and the opposition must now allow the judiciary to weigh in.

Considering that election petitions brought in the Nigerian courts are neither expeditious nor do they usually issue a temporary restraining order in election cases because the system lends no regard as to whether irreparable harm will be done, it is unlikely that a decision will be rendered anytime soon. It is not uncommon for matters such as this to drag on for months, way past the swearing-in date. For example, court rules require up 180 days from the date of filing for an Election Tribunal to hear and determine an election petition. And an appeal against a Tribunal’s decision filed within 21 days after such a decision must be disposed of in 60 days. So, at a minimum, it will require 10-12 months to resolve the ongoing challenge to Tinubu’s election victory.

Thus, based on the above, INEC should swear in Mr. Tinubu on May 29, 2023. For the following reasons. (1) stabilize the seriously fractured nation. This is hoping that he can form an inclusive government and govern with empathy. (2) Heal the divide in the country. Again, hoping that he doesn’t become more tribal or insular submitting to the worse of our ethnic instincts. Our ethnic schism is deep and corrosive, a unifying president will help rehabilitate the people along a common national course. At least until the court adjudicates the matter. (3) Spare us the ridicule of an interim government as if the nation just survived a military junta or a post-conflict situation.

Anything short of this will further destabilize the country, weaken the already seriously fragile nation due to clear uncertainties and further debilitate our prospect of recovery. Whatever the outcome, whether Mr. Tinubu remains president or removed and another person is installed, or the court orders a new election, the fact is that the next president of Nigeria would have a daunting task of navigating through some of the most pressing challenges ever to face the country, including the bitter ethnic divide that threatens to turn the country into a smouldering wreck.

Twitter: @Obanor

1 COMMENT

  1. Once he is sworn in, it would be difficult for the courts to upturn that as they would be looking at the consequence of upturning his declaration on the nation.
    And the supreme court would not want to set a precedent that would be detrimental to the unity and progress of the nation of Nigeria.
    Nigerians are waiting and watching with hope that the courts would do justice not minding it’s anticipated consequences .

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