By Joshua Chibuzo Andrew, Owerri
Chieftain of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Chekwas Okorie has appealed to Nigerians to pray and cooperate with president Bola Tinubu, APC led administration.
Okorie, made the plea while reacting to the verdict of the presidential election petition tribunal, affirming Bola Tinubu, who ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for 2023 election as the rightful winner of the poll.
The 5- man panel in a unanimous judgement on Wednesday, Sept, 06 2023, struck out the Labour Party and the peoples Democratic Party suit challenging the illegibility of the APC candidate, Tinubu, who was declared winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Reacting to the judgment, Okorie wrote;
“I am not surprised at the outcome of the judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, PEPT. I took the time to read through the petitions of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the PDP and Peter Obi of the Labour party before now.
“I was satisfied that the petitioners failed woefully to specify the polling units or collation centers where they were denied lawful votes, which could have earned either of them victory at the polls.
“Rather than prove a case of substantial non-compliance with the electoral law, they seemed to have relied on scoring technical points to win their petitions. Their strategy failed.
” It is clear even to the unwary that the framers of the 1999 constitution could not have intended to confer on the Federal Capital Territory, FTC, superior status to the rest of the states of the Federation.
“What is clear to the discerning public that painstakingly followed the delivery of the unanimous judgments by the five judges of the Tribunal which lasted for more than10 hours and which was broadcast live by all major television and radio networks in Nigeria is that the declaration of President Tinubu as the lawful winner of the February 25th, 2023 Presidential election was well founded.
“While the petitioners may wish to exercise their right of appeal, l do not expect a different outcome. I most sincerely congratulate President Tinubu and his vice president, Senator Kashim.
“The President should be focused on the onerous task of governing a complex and complicated country without further distractions. In addition to delivering on his campaign promises, Nigeria’s geopolitical structure is in urgent need of resetting. President Tinubu is a well-known champion of true federalism.
“So much is expected from him in this regard. I am confident that he has the capacity and ability to launch Nigeria on the path of rapid and sustainable development.
“I urge Nigerians to pray for the President and cooperate with his administration. I also urge those in opposition to be constructive and patriotic in their criticism of government policies and actions.
“The Legislature has a responsibility to revisit the electoral laws to remove all established lacunae and ambiguities to make future elections less contentious.
“Chekwas Okorie.”
