Ike Abonyi, Chuks Okocha, Dayo Thomas and Damilola Oyedele in Abuja
27 February 2008
Lagos — The presidential candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, and his Action Congress (AC) counterpart, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, yesterday expressed dissatisfaction with the Court of Appeal affirmation of the election of President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, vowing to pursue their cases to the Supreme Court.
Buhari, who spoke to newsmen immediately after the judgment, described it as a "semi final", maintaining that he was waiting for the final judgment to be decided at the Supreme Court.
According to Buhari, "We have come to the semi final, we are proceeding to the Supreme Court and we are going to do it within the three weeks of this exercise. Thank you very much."
Also addressing a press conference at his residence in Asokoro, Abuja, Atiku, in a statement entitled "Justice has not been done; we will appeal to the Supreme Court", said "today, the battle is lost, but the war remains. There is still a long winding road ahead of us in the long journey to rebuild Nigeria. There are many more tribulations awaiting us down the road. But go down this road, we must.
"We must rebuild our politics, our economy and our society. We must redefine what it means to be a Nigerian. Every Nigerian of voting age must have his voice heard and his vote counted, because, as I have said before, there is no alternative to democracy."
Atiku, who said that he would take the affirmation to the Supreme Court, added: "Yet, the rule of law must prevail. Right will, one day, prevail over wrong. I remain unshaken and steadfast in my long held belief that there is no alternative to this our democracy.
"In fact, today's judgment revalidated this and I am confident still that, even though it may sometimes appear to be a long and tortuous path, there is no alternative to recourse to our courts to seek redress for electoral fraud. Consequently, I have instructed my team of lawyers to compile the records of today's proceedings and to, immediately, file an appeal at the Supreme Court of Nigeria to overturn this judgment."
He said, "As a law abiding, people-first committed democrat, the standard bearer of an equally democratic, people oriented and law abiding political party and having faith in the strength, courage and ability of the Nigerian judiciary to dispense justice fairly and without bias, we have taken the one and only route we have always taken in the face of manifest illegality, injustice and subversion of the will of the people: we have gone to court."
His party, AC, said it has always known that the petition filed by its presidential candidate, against the 21 April 2007 election of President Yar'Adua would be determined conclusively by the Supreme Court.
The party expressed shock and dismay that given the preponderance of evidence, the election petitions tribunal could still go ahead to legitimise "electoral fraud and gangsterism" by validating Yar'Adua's election.
In a statement issued in Abuja by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, AC said its confidence in the judiciary remains unshaken despite the judgment. "We in the AC have always shown tremendous respect for the judiciary because of its forthrightness, fairness and fearlessness. Today's judgment has not changed that, even though we would have wished that the tribunal would rule otherwise, considering the preponderance of solid evidence showing that what was passed on for election on April 21 was nothing but a charade, a make-belief [make-believe] and a mockery of election process," the party said.
But in a statement issued on behalf of the president by his spokesman, Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi, Yar'Adua said he welcomed "with humility and gratitude to God Almighty from whom all power and authority come" the affirmation by the Presidential Elections Tribunal that he was duly elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by the majority of votes lawfully cast in the presidential elections of April 21, 2007.
The statement said: "The President is gratified that the Tribunal unanimously confirmed his often-stated belief that the acknowledged imperfections notwithstanding, he was the clear winner of the presidential elections, which were conducted, in substantial compliance with all relevant laws.
"The President urges his two valiant opponents in the elections who petitioned against its outcome to accept the verdict of the tribunal in good faith. His invitation for them to cooperate with him in moving Nigeria forward remains and he calls on them to accept it now in the greater interest of the country.
"The President also reaffirms his commitment to working with all stakeholders to fully address the problems associated with past elections in the country and achieve a positive reformation of Nigeria's electoral system that will ensure that the problems do not recur in future."
The ruling party, PDP, welcomed the verdict, describing it as a victory for democracy.
The National Chairman of the party, Dr. Ahmadu Ali, said: "This landmark judgment is not only a victory for the PDP, it is equally a victory for our nascent democracy which is maturing fast."
He said that Nigerians voted for Yar'Adua because he campaigned very well, saying, "with the affirmation by the court, we call on Nigerians to close ranks, rally round Mr. President and provide the necessary platform for the attainment of the laudable objectives and programmes of concrete development."
Immediate past president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has applauded the verdict. He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in a telephone interview that the verdict had vindicated his administration's stand that the election was creditably conducted.
"The election was properly conducted," he said. Obasanjo said the verdict was "a vindication of the fact that my administration conducted the election to the best of our ability".
The European Union (EU) also said that the ruling on the validity of President Yar'Adua's election would further confirm the independence of the judiciary.
EU Ambassador to Nigeria, Robert Meulen, said this during the donation of digital court recording equipment worth over $30 million to the Nigerian Judiciary Institute.
He noted that the judiciary had been in the limelight of the democratic process and had diligently fulfilled its mandate by showing commendable independence.
"This builds public confidence and strengthens the demand for improved electoral processes and democratic development," Meulen said. He explained that though the EU was collaborating with Nigeria to entrench good governance in its polity, its findings during the just-concluded elections had raised some shortcomings.
"We hope an open and peaceful debate within the legal framework will help Nigeria improve its future elections," Meulen said.
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