By Chuks Eke
As the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, PEPT is set to deliver judgement on September 6 in the petitions filed against President Ahmed Bola Tinubu and his party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, by the Presidential candidate of the Labour Parry, LP, Peter Obi and his Peoples Democratic Party, PDP counterpart, Atiku Abubakar, challenging Tinubu’s declaration as winner of the February 25 presidential election, a chieftain of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Samuel Chukwukelu Esq., has assured the tribunal that their decision would determine the future of this country.
He therefore urged the tribunal to endeavour to give a judgement that will represent the law in the eyes of the masses.
Chukwukelu who spoke to newsmen in his law chambers at Nkpor in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra state, yesterday, ahead of the tribunal’s judgement, said: “the tribunal should know that all eyes are on the judiciary and as such, if they want the country to remain one, it is left for them but if they want it destroyed, it is also left for them”.
Chukwukelu, a former Chairman of NBA, Idemili branch, one of the eight branches of NBA in Anambra state further declared: “the tribunal should know that whatever they decide on Wednesday will determine the future of this country and that the survival of the country will depend largely on their decision”.
“The best thing is to do what the law demands in this circumstance since it is their decision that will determine whether this country will remain one or be destroyed entirely. So, they should not look at their left or right or be influenced by anybody financially or otherwise no matter how highly placed”.
“They should stand firm, irrespective of the position of anybody because the only thing that will save this country is to do the right thing, otherwise they will kill this country and it will collapse on all of us.”
“They should give their judgement in accordance with the law. They should not manipulate. Let justice be seen physically done and not seem to have been done. That is the only thing that will save this country. Otherwise, they will kill it. The best thing for them is to determine the future of this country by giving their judgement in accordance with the law”.
“People seen, people heard, people reason and knew what happened and as such there is no way you can tell them that white is black and vice versa or that if you say that Abuja is Onitsha, people will believe you because you are the judge”.
“The bottom line is that Abuja is Abuja. Onitsha is Onitsha. There is no two ways about it. There won’t be any justification for people to believe you if you say any thing on the contrary, rather they will suspect that you have been influenced with financial gratification”.
“Therefore, for people to belive you, jyou have to give a judgement that will represent the law in the eyes of the masses”.
On the ministerial appointments recently rolled out by President Tinubu as it concerned the Southeast geopolitical zone, Chukwukelu declared: “I cannot complain any longer that Southeast has always been at the receiving end. The South Easterners are treated like slaves in this country. Other zones do not see us as worthy to be president. They never saw us worthy to be vice president or Senate president. They did not consider us even to be speaker of the House of Representatives”.
Now, coming to ministerial positions, they did not consider us to have an equal share to partake in it. Just look at the ministerial list and see the number other zones got which is far beyond what we got. It has always been the case in this country”..
So, at times you don’t blame those south easterners who are agitating for separation because it is quite obvious that we are actually being marginalized and maltreated. There is no equity in what they are doing. There is this principle of justice which says that equity is equality So when the equally is no there, then there is no equity”.
“When a president is sworn in, he is no longer a member of any particular ethnic group, he is now representing the entire ethnic groups at the centre. He belongs to all. He can no longer say these are my people and others are not or that these people voted for me and others did not”.
“The election is meant to be contested for and everybody has his or her own preferred candidate to be vote for otherwise why did you allow others to contest with you? You would have been elected unopposed. But since you subjected yourself to contest with others in order to test your popularity, you don’t expect to get 100 percent votes because other ethnic groups have their own sons in the contest and as such you can’t treat others with disdain”, said Chukwukelu.
