Ahmed I. Shekarau
6 May 2003
Vice-Presidential candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Dr. Chuba Okadigbo has advised President Oluse-gun Obasanjo to hand over power to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) on May 29, so that a Provisional National Government (PNG) would be set up to conduct fresh elections in the country.
In a three-page letter he wrote to the president on the controversies surrounding the parliamentary, presidential and governorship elections, Dr. Okadigbo further advised that provisional governments be set up in the states under state Chief Judges.
Okadigbo's position is coming on the heels of condemnation of the conduct of the April 12th and 19th elections by international and domestic observers, as well as outright rejection of the results of the polls by 28 out of the 30 registered political parties in the country.
He said that the provisional government to be headed by the CJN should govern the country for three months within which it would conduct fresh general elections to resolve all controversies.
According to him, by invoking Section 4 of the 1999 Constitution, the National Assembly can provide the mechanisms for the establishment of such governments and for fresh elections.
"Since the constitution provides no remedy for the current quagmire or its equivalent, the questions of constitutional change does not at all arise and therefore the National Assembly can intervene by empowering itself to provide for a National Provisional Government and its adjuncts," he suggested.
While condemning the entire conduct of the polls, the former Senate President maintained that the National Assembly, gubernatorial and presidential elections were "massively and shamefully rigged in favour of the PDP and the president."
"In the main, officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) collaborated with mobile police, military and security personnel to boost PDP-led governments, candidates and agents, as never before in Nigerian history," Dr. Okadigbo added.
Some of the malpractices alleged by the ANPP presidential running mate include non-delivery or hijack of election materials; injury, arrest or murder of PDP opponents, especially candidates and agents; ballot box theft, stuffing and distortion of election results among others.
He said that all these malpractices were confirmed by domestic and international election monitors.
Categorising the PDP victory as a "sun slide" requiring abolition, Dr. Okadigbo maintained that the 2003 elections were the most fraudulent in the history of Nigeria.
He reminded the president that any government that is not formed on the basis of the popular will of the majority does not stand the test of time.
Quoting extensively from ancient public officers and orators like Thomas Jefferson, Jean Jacques Rousseau among others, Dr. Okadigbo held that the positions taken by the PDP chairman and others condemning opposition views over the conduct of the polls are recipes for catastrophe.
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