A Constitutional lawyer and Human Rights Activist, Dr. Tunji Abayomi has taken a look at the Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja along with the fact before it and said that the legal battle between President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress and the two main opposition Candidates, Presidential Candidate of Labour Party, Peter Obi and that of Peoples Democratic Party, Abubakar Atiku would not lead to rerun because they have no case
According to him, when you took critically on some issues raised by the opposition Candidates, any elementary legal mind will understand that it is an exercise in futility.
Abayomi in an interview with newsmen Akure, the Ondo State Capital noted that firstly, they said President Tinubu was not qualified to contest, they hang their case on certain forfeiture, and the Constitution talks largely on conviction, you cannot talk of conviction without a charge, a plea and a trial. All criminal forfeiture universally followed conviction.
“For example, a drug barron can pay for my services as lawyer, the law can only go after the money and not me because, i was not a bad person or involved in his business, so, separate bad money from good people, but when I am a bad person, you will charge me to court, I will take the plea, tried, then convicted and forfeiture will follow”, he argued.
On the issue of two third in Federal Territory, Abuja, Abayomi noted that the Constitution has resolved that in a case of Waziri Ibrahim against Shagari in 1983, it was resolved that “You treat Abuja, Federal Territory as a State. So, you don’t treat Abuja more than any State in the Federation.
“But a lot of people confused the issue when they talk of Abuja Federal Territory. It is a mere
nomenclature like Ondo, Kano, Calabar or Edo. The focus is not Federal Territory, the focus is on the voters and now people forget something that Federal government has no voters, only state and local governments have, that is why the Constitution turn the Federal Territory to State so as to account for the voters in the area.
“No voter in Nigeria can have more value than other voters in other States. We cannot treat unequal equal. The constitution has resolved that, Abuja cannot be treated more than a state or less than a State.
While speaking on the corruption and noncompliance with the Electoral Act, the Constitutional lawyer said, if you want to prove that election should be invalidated, in this case, you must show some substantial noncompliance with the law. “I aligned with the position of the leading lawyer of President Bola Tinubu, Chief Wole Olanipekun that what the opposition Presidential Candidates of LP and PDP put before the Court was mere fiction without any proof and I share his position.
Speaking on the Ministerial Nominees, Abayomi advised that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should think deeply before appointing his ministers saying that he should take them one on one to know their attributes, power, strength, their ability and weaknesses.
He therefore added that expectations of Nigerians are very high, strong and very serious saying that Mr. President needs a very strong team to work with him, because leadership is significant. It is leadership that would reform our poverty to wealth.
Ends
