LAGOS, Nigeria — An alarming allegation has been raised by a Nigerian non-governmental organisation, Face Of Waziri-Nigeria, FOWN, indicating an attempt to disrupt the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal.
According to the group, President Bola Tinubu is allegedly attempting to force the resignation of two justices to derail the tribunal process.
FOWN’s Director General, Comrade Bukky Adeniyi, disclosed this in a statement released on Thursday, July 20, 2023.
“There is a surreptitious move by President Bola Tinubu to make the justices resign which is targeted at ensuring the time frame of 180 days elapses before the panel concludes the case,” said Adeniyi. As Adeniyi explained, the implication would be to render the case “statute barred and of no effect”.
Adeniyi further claimed that President Tinubu and his team press the tribunal justices, hoping to provoke their withdrawal or resignation.
The NGO asserts this is part of a wider scheme involving a prominent governor, formerly of the PDP but now in APC, using past financial transactions to blackmail the justices.
Adeniyi questioned the validity of this approach: “Did the justice or justices demand the money the governor gave then, or was it given as a thank you? In whatever case, the tribunal matter differs from whatever transaction they had together in the past.”
This ongoing controversy comes when Atiku Abubakar, the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is seeking to confirm the authenticity of President Tinubu’s educational credentials from Chicago State University.
As part of this legal pursuit, Abubakar has asked the court to subpoena a representative of Chicago State University, to ascertain the veracity of President Tinubu’s claimed attendance.
The representative is expected to testify on July 21, 2023.
The current allegations by FOWN add another layer to Nigeria’s already complicated political situation.
Whether these claims will impact the ongoing proceedings or not remains to be seen.
