By Fidelis Umagba
Since the judgement of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal that upheld the election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was delivered, mixed reactions and divergent views have continued to trail it. Such is expected, no matter who was favoured by the judgment. If the judgment had gone any other way, there would be reactions, complaints, commendations, applauses, condemnations, and criticisms as well.
Mostly hurt, pained and dazed by the PEPT judgment were the overzealous, emotional and sponsored “All Eyes On The Judiciary” campaigners and crusaders, who ignorantly and mischievously believed that they can cow or intimidate the judiciary to pander to whims and caprices of their paymasters that include some presidential candidates that see themselves as the most qualified and fitted to be declared or crowned President of Nigeria by the tribunal. After the judgment of Presidential Election Tribunal, many other tribunals across the country have delivered and are still delivering judgments, where initial winners have either lost or won, and initial losers have either lost or won.
Anyone who listened to the recent judgment of 2023 Presidential Election Tribunal, which is the longest in the history of election petition judgment delivery in the country will observe that the justices did their job in accordance with the provisions of the laws, without minding whose ox is gored or who were threatening them and their families before the judgment.
Of good development is the fact that major presidential candidates who condemned and rejected the judgment have headed to the Supreme Court to challenge it. This is the beauty of democracy and the best, legal, and civil way to go, instead of inciting violence, threatening fire, and brimstone for losing election cases.
With the judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal and the Supreme Court’s dismissal for lack of merit the petition of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu State and Minister of Science and Technology, Hon. Uche Nnaji challenging the election of Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, the dreamers, social media lawyers/ judges, and utopian mandate recovery seers of the Labour Party governorship candidate in Enugu State, Barr. Chijioke Edeoga should wake up from their fantasies and illusions of victory at the tribunal and face the reality of impending and inevitable defeat.
It has been established and reaffirmed by the judgments of the President Election Petition Tribunal and Supreme Court in Nnaji’s case that the judiciary cannot be swayed, mesmerized, cajoled, deceived, confused or impressed with social media lies, propaganda, fabrications and blackmail to pervert justice. At this point, Barr. Edeoga and his cohorts, who are specialists in social media lies and propaganda but were unable to prove their case against Governor Mbah at the tribunal, should know that the game is over for them. The rate at which their Labour party’s candidates have lost cases at the tribunals across the country and Enugu State in particular is enough evidence that their victories in the elections were tainted with frauds and are contrary with the provisions of the constitution and electoral act.
The laws are very clear and precedents have been once set again in PEPT judgment and Supreme Court’s dismissal of Nnaji’s case against Governor Mbah. As it is now, no amount of desperate media hypings, publicity stunts for NYSC, skewed article by debarred Emeka Ugwuonye and clandestine moves to compromise the judiciary will save Barr. Edeoga the impending defeat at the tribunal in the days ahead.
Even though they have no choice, it is expected of Barr. Edeoga and his social media goons to prepare their minds to accept the impending defeat in good faith and move on or at worst toe the path of legality and honour in challenging it, if deemed necessary and stop engaging in puerile and preposterous social media mudslingings and blackmailing of Governor Mbah and distortion of facts and figures to mislead the gullible and vulnerable people.
