Guber poll: Tinubu’s non-interference in Supreme Court rulings saved Nigeria’s democracy – Kabir Marafa

A former Senator representing Zamfara Central, Kabiru Marafa, said on Monday that President Bola Tinubu saved Nigeria’s democracy by not interfering in the judgment of the Supreme Court on the 2023 governorship election.

Marafa, who was the Coordinator for the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council for the 2023 general election, stated this in a statement in Gusau.

He was reacting to Friday’s rulings of the Supreme Court that affirmed the election of eight governors – Abba Yusuf (Kano), Caleb Mutfwang (Plateau), Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), Dauda Lawal (Zamfara), Francis Nwifuru (Ebonyi), Alex Otti (Abia) and Bassey Otu (Cross River).

He said Tinubu and the apex court justices had lived up to the expectations of Nigerians.

Marafa said: “Posterity will judge them well for allowing the will of the Nigerian voters to prevail.

“It is a welcome development. Tinubu has by this singular action of non-interference in the Supreme Court judgement saved the country’s democracy and forestalled the repeat of the 1983 scenario.

“You will recall that it was after the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) grabbed states that were hitherto of the opposition that the Second Republic collapsed.”

He said the Supreme Court rulings had reinforced his belief in the ability and capacity of the judiciary to right any wrong in the country’s political evolution.

The former lawmaker recalled a similar incident during the build-up to the 2019 general election in Zamfara.

He added: “I protested against the conduct of the kangaroo primaries and the imposition of candidates by the then Governor Abdulaziz Yari, the judiciary stood up to the occasion and delivered a landmark judgment that gave the whole state to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

“The judiciary must be allowed to be just and fair no matter whose ox is gored. This is necessary if the political actors want democracy to endure in the country.”

Marafa urged the eight governors whose election was affirmed to be magnanimous, just, and fair in governing their states.

He congratulated Governor Lawal and urged him to work to justify the confidence reposed on him by the people of the state.

“I hereby, call on the governor of our dear state, Zamfara to collaborate with His Excellency, President Tinubu, Vice President, Kashim Shettima, and relevant security agencies to restore the much-needed peace and security in Zamfara.

“Peace is what our people are yearning for and nothing more,” he concluded.

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