Press Statement
It has come to our notice at the Governance Watch Initiative that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), having failed to execute its rigging plan at the last governorship polls in Osun State, is now trying to tamper with the work of the state’s Election Petition Tribunal by seeking to compromise the Chairman of the Tribunal.
We learnt that while efforts so far to bend the Chairman to do its bidding has failed, the PDP is now seeking to use a proxy to tarnish the image of the Chairman in order to have him removed and replaced with a pliable personality, especially since some members of the Tribunal are not as principled as the Chairman.
In furtherance of this evil plan, the PDP has approached one of the candidates in the Aug. 9th election in the state to petition the President of the Court of Appeal to remove the Tribunal Chairman on the grounds that his party has no confidence in him.
We have therefore decided to alert all good people of Nigeria in general and the good people of Osun in particular to the shenanigans, and to warn against any attempt to use the back door to thwart the will of the people of Osun State.
The people of Osun spoke loud and clear on Aug. 9th that they are satisfied with the good work that is being done by Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and would want him to continue for another four years. By doing so, they also rejected all those who have nothing to offer but thuggery, violence, personal interest and ego as well as sheer incompetence.
It will therefore amount to wishful thinking that those who were roundly rejected at the polls will now barge through the back door into the office of the governor, just because they believe they are well connected.
It is said that no one, no matter how powerful, can rule a people against their will. We hope those who are trying to manipulate the Osun Election Petition Tribunal will understand this saying and back off so that the Tribunal can carry out its work without hindrance.
On our part, we will continue to closely monitor the proceedings of the Tribunal as well as the underhand efforts by the desperate enemies of the people to sabotage its work. All we want is for the Tribunal to be allowed to carry out its work without interference from any quarter whatsoever.
But, in the words of US Civil Rights Leader Martin Luther King, ”we shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
Barrister Rotimi Ogunwuyi
National Coordinator
