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Tinubu’s camp to Atiku: Stop day-dreaming, 2027 not for you *Dismiss visit to Buhari
“His latest permutations to unseat Tinubu in 2027: and the list of the Ex-presidents he had visited within a week is getting seriously alarming, even if he decided to visit either Saitan or Pharaoh, nothing can change Almighty God’s decision on Tinubu.”
This was the clear message with which the President Bola Tinubu camp, on Monday, confronted Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President, over what they see as his current underground moves to remove the incumbent President and take over residency of the Presidential Villa Abuja in 2027, which they said, would be another wasted effort.
The camp conveyed its position in a statement by Abdulhakeem Adegoke Alawuje, Coordinator of Disciples of Jagaban, which said it was sending off the warning in response to last weekend’s visit of Atiku, first to former military President Ibrahim Babangida and ex-President Muhammadu Buhari last weekend, to alert him that it would come to naught, as a political scheme.
Alawuje, who said the latest moves of the former VP only succeeded in showing the level of his desperation, added: “The former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, is in the news again, as he embarked on a political sojourn that saw him visit two former presidents last week. Though the details of the meetings Atiku held with former military president Ibrahim Babangida and ex-President Muhammadu Buhari remain sketchy, feelers are the visit may not be unconnected with the 2027 presidential election.
“If this is indeed true, then Atiku Abubakar must be told in clear terms that 2027 is not negotiable as far as President Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu is concerned. Tinubu is a staunch democrat who intentionally refused to disclose all the accumulated crisis of over three decades, he met in the office, but he said, I am fully aware of what I am coming to clear, before I ask Nigerian to vote for me, being a straight forward leader, made some Nigerian sifting all the blame of the present situation on him.
“Atiku needs to be told that this is an undisputed fact, with all the major opposition politicians fully aware that the return of Tinubu in 2027 is not negotiable. Atiku’s latest romance with the former presidents is a vein pursuit of the surreal, an unrealistic endeavor for which Nigerians are there to tell him the bitter truth, the necessity for him not to embark on another fruitless journey that would certainly end in another disappointment.
“Obviously, Atiku and his handlers have forgotten that power comes only from God and not through the manipulative tendencies of individuals even as they try to mislead the citizens. “The level of political frustration in Atiku is increasing by the seconds, and it has resulted in a dream that can never come through.
“Nigerians need not waste their time and resources in listening to the former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, because he has nothing more to give. Being a former vice president, he deserves some respect and regards from us. The best we can offer him at the moment is to banish him permanently from the political scene. The more the former Vice President realises that he can never rule this nation, the more he gets frustrated, triggering him to embark on fruitless adventures.
“His desperation to rule Nigeria has politically changed to a determination to set the country to a serious ethnic crisis. I will always remind the former Vice President on his debate at Arewa House before the 2023 general election, where he publicly said the Northerners doesn’t need either Yorubas or Igbos to produce president. This is not the former Vice President we used to know. His behaviour of late has shown that he is ready to set the country on the part of anarchy in order to achieve his ambition.”
For the umpteenth time, Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has warned about the dangerous implication of using state institutions, particularly the judiciary to destroy Nigeria’s democracy, saying it is an ill-wind that blows nobody any good.
Atiku, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), speaking on the heels of Tuesday’s verdict of the Court of Appeal, halting the de-registration order by the Federal High Court, insisted that judicial officers must not lend themselves to any act capable of undermining the nation’s democratic process.
The appellate court had ordered a stay of execution on the order made on Monday by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court Abuja, for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the ADC alongside four other political parties).
A totally scandalised Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, had taken umbrage, sparing no hard words in upbraiding the lower court judge, stating that his likes were unfit to sit on the bench.
In a unanimous ruling by a three-man panel, the court held that Lifu’s action was “the highest form of judicial impertinence”, stressing that the Supreme Court previously held that a judge who acted in such a manner.
Describing his conduct as the height of judicial rascality, the upper court, stated: “Courts are enjoined to protect their integrity. This Court has supervisory authority over the trial court.
“The decision of the lower court to proceed with the judgment despite the express order of this court is a brazen violation of the hierarchy of the court and the 1999 Constitution.
This court has the duty to invoke its powers in ensuring that its orders are obeyed. The application for a stay of execution is here yet granted. The enforcement of the judgment is stayed.”
Atiku, who hailed the position of the higher court, which restored his hope to be on the ballot as presidential candidate in the 2027 election, also noted the role of INEC as “significant.”
He said: “I welcome the Court of Appeal’s decision to stay the execution of the Federal High Court judgement 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 development reflects growing public concern over judicial contradictions and politically charged rulings within the judiciary. “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.
Outside ADC, Lifu’s order, also included: Action Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), similarly slammed for allegedly failing to meet the constitutional requirements for continued registration and participation in elections.
“He is running in contempt of the court. Justice Lifu should be arrested because he is acting in contempt of the court which is a criminal act,” were the exact words with which the African Democratic Congress (ADC), demonstrated its angst over the court ruling on Monday, ordering its de-registration as a political party in Nigeria.
A furious Bolaji Abdullahi, spokesman of the party, told his host while appearing as a guest on Monday’s edition of Politics Today, a public affairs programme on Channels Television that the judge of the Abuja Federal High Court who gave the order was actually playing with fire because of the consequences.
Directly accusing him of playing the script of the All Progressives Congress (APC), to ensure that President Bola Tinubu emerged the sole candidate for the 2027 presidential election, the party spokesman, was emphatic that the plan would not work, as head or tail, ADC must be on the ballot in all the elections.
Hear him: “There is a Court of Appeal order saying don’t hear this case until October 27. So, on what basis? You can’t place something on nothing. The Court of Appeal said don’t act on this until I hear it on October 27. So, on what basis did he deliver the judgement
“So, for us in the African Democratic Congress, what we’re convinced and they know is what they have done has no leg to stand on legally. What they want to do is to create doubts in the minds of the people that this ADC has too many legal cases, can we actually run on this? And to distract us. But we’re not distracted.
“We’re very clear. It was in spite of all they have done since ADC came on board that we ran one of the best and one of the most comprehensive direct primaries in the history of democracy in Nigeria. So, we are strong enough to withstand this. And that’s why I’m saying that we are going to contest in 2027. We’re ADC. We don’t buckle before dictatorship.”
Stressing on the implication of the judgement, which also affected Accord Party (AP), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) for allegedly failing to meet constitutional and electoral performance requirements, following a suit by the National Forum of Former Legislators, he said it portended grave danger.
He added: “We are not surprised. We know that the Nigerian people believe that there is a problem with the judiciary, but what we did not expect is the level of judicial rascality that was demonstrated today.
“What we are saying is that we reject it in its totality, and we are saying that the people behind this are playing with fire. Hundreds, if not thousands, have obtained nomination forms and contested elections and emerged as candidates on the platform of the ADC.”
Peter Obi, candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), in the 2027 presidential election, is peeved at the decision of the Federal High Court, Abuja, ordering the de-registration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), saying the move is a heavy blow and dangerous to Nigeria’s democracy.
Justice Peter Lifu, who made the order, based on an action brought by National Forum of Former Legislators, agreed that the parties, including Accord Party (AP), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), failed to meet the requirement for continued existence in Nigeria.
But Obi, who left the ADC coalition to join the NDC, incidentally, based on what he explained resulted from the multiple court cases hanging on its neck, expressed his disenchantment, in a statement by the Peter Obi Media Reach (POMR), on Monday.
Signed by Ibrahim Umar, its spokesman, the group quoted the former Governor of Anambra State as decrying the growing damage to the nation’s sacred institutions on the altar of politics.
Stressing that the rise of nations depended on stronger institutions devoid of political influences, the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, wrote on his X platform: “When the controversy surrounding the removal of the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, unfolded, I expressed a concern to a friend: that the greatest damage might not be immediate, but the message it sends about the sanctity and independence of our institutions to the world.
“Strong economies are built on trust. Investors can manage security risks, policy risks, and even market risks. What they fear most is uncertainty in the rule of law and a judiciary that is perceived to be vulnerable to political pressure.
“Today, many Nigerians have lost confidence in systems that should protect them. Businesses increasingly request that their contracts be governed by foreign jurisdictions because they have greater confidence in those institutions than in our own. That should concern every patriot.
“We must never sacrifice our sacred institutions on the altar of politics. Nations rise when institutions are stronger than individuals. The Federal High Court judgment ordering the deregistration of the ADC and other political parties is just one of those activities that further reduces the common man’s trust in our legal systems. It should be reversed.
“I pledge that we will restore the dignity, independence, and integrity of the judiciary. The common man must have a voice. The business community must be protected from legal uncertainty and intimidation. Justice must be impartial, accessible, and respected by all. To our judges, legal luminaries, senior advocates, and lawyers: this is your moment. Rise, defend the rule of law, take back your country! A new Nigeria is POssible.”
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