Hours to inauguration, Peter Obi charges judiciary to ‘reaffirm its independence, integrity’

Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s nominee for president in the last election, has asked the Nigerian judiciary to use the current election cases to reassert its integrity.

He made this call on Monday morning via a series of tweets, just hours before the inauguration of Bola Tinubu as the next President of Nigeria.

Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, also exhorted Nigerians to face the truth about the situation at hand and look for ethical and lawful solutions to shift the negative narratives.

Tinubu was proclaimed the victor of the presidential election held on February 25, 2023, by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

Obi and former vice president Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party were defeated in the election by the former governor of Lagos State.

Obi and Atiku asked the court to restore their “mandate” after being disappointed with the election’s results. The pair asserted that they both won and that the election was tainted by fraud.
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Obi noted that it had become necessary for Nigerians and his supporters to reflect on “our missed opportunities and disappointments” in a series of tweets on his verified Twitter account on Monday.

He added that Nigerians needed to see evidence of the judiciary’s independence.

Read Also: Presidential Election Court orders Peter Obi, LP to present joint petition in three weeks

The Twitter thread reads, “For all Nigerians, this is a time for deep reflection. It is also a time to re-examine our assumptions, even as we reaffirm our hopes. Let us calmly review our aspirations, in order to recalibrate our expectations and pin down the causes of our missed opportunities and disappointments.

“We stand at that critical moment in time when, as a people, we must collectively come to grips with the reality of our injured destiny as well as the reasons for that injury. It is for us to reassess our plight as a young democracy and identify clear pathways to a better and greater future for us all.

“As we await the verdict of the election tribunal, I urge all Nigerians to use this opportunity to renew their commitment to the Nigerian ideal. That ideal remains noble and worth every sacrifice we can make.

“Nigeria remains our only patrimony and it is a patrimony we must protect, rather than violate. We have no other nation but this, so let us remain committed to rescuing and rebuilding it.

“The judiciary is part of the democratic enterprise and a critical governance tool for determining the propriety of the decisions and actions of every citizen and every institution of state. To that extent, and for that reason,

“I urge everyone to treat it with the respect and dignity it deserves. We expect that the Nigerian judiciary will use the election cases now before it to reaffirm its independence and integrity. It has to do so, for all our sakes and for itself.

“Nigerians must, therefore, remain peaceful and law-abiding. No matter the depth of anyone’s reservations about what is going on in the polity today, no matter the real and imagined provocations, and no matter the disagreement out there, we should remember that this will not last forever.”

For all Nigerians, this is a time for deep reflection. It is also a time to re-examine our assumptions, even as we reaffirm our hopes. Let us calmly review our aspirations, in order to recalibrate our expectations and pin down the causes of our missed opportunities and

— Peter Obi (@PeterObi) May 28, 2023

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