As candidates of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), President Muhammad Buhari and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, in the 2019 president election shift their battle to the Supreme Court, the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), has alleged of plans in some quarters to jettison seniority in the selection of panel justices, and vowed to reject the move.
The CUPP, at a press conference, yesterday, in Abuja, claimed that the ruling APC-led Federal Government was mounting undue pressure on the Chief Justice of the Federation, Dr Ibrahim Tanko and the “entire court to accept a handpicked panel and jettison the age-long tradition of the court selecting the most senior justices of the Supreme Court to sit on the panel.”
Spokesman of the opposition coalition, Ikenga Ugochinyere, who addressed the media, said the coalition would not accept such action.
“We have it on good authority that the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government has been mounting undue pressure on the Chief Justice of the Federation, and indeed, the entire court to accept a handpicked panel and jettison the age-long tradition of the court of selecting the most senior justices of the Supreme Court to sit on the panel,” it claimed. The text of the briefing read thus: “As you are already aware the opposition consensus candidate Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has approached the Supreme Court of Nigeria to appeal the controversial and unpopular judgment of the Court of Appeal which dismissed his petition.
“By the provisions of the 4th Alteration of the 1999 Constitution as amended, the Supreme Court of Nigeria has 60 days from the date of the filing of the Notice of Appeal. These processes have kick started and everyone is awaiting the composition of the names of the seven-man panel by the Chief Justice of Nigeria.
“The disquiet and bad blood caused by the APC in the Supreme Court now is a clear desecration of the highest temple of justice in the land.
“We have it on good authority that the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government has been mounting undue pressure on the Chief Justice of the Federation, and indeed, the entire court to accept a handpicked panel and jettison the age-long tradition of the court of selecting the most senior justices of the Supreme Court to sit on the panel.
“The opposition and most Nigerians will not accept a handpicked panel neither will the pronouncement of such panel command the requite respect and confidence of the people of Nigeria and we in the opposition.
“The Supreme Court is for the people the last hope of the judiciary. The actions of the Supreme Court must inspire national confidence and deliver not just judgment but justice and that path to justice is not only about the law but about the ordinary man believing that justice has been done. The Supreme Court is supreme and its words must be for the protection of the society and the people and the law.
“A grave error was done at Appeal Court and the nation is waiting to see how a man who violated the Electoral Act and was supposed to have been disqualified managed to survive at the Appeal Court. That court failed in both the issues of law and issues of national interest.
“Today, corruption has been permeated in the highest levels of the Presidency. Today, Nigeria is indebted more than ever before. Today, suffering citizens are being taxed to death. Today, there is a craze to generate revenue even at the risk of stripping citizens of their minimal purchasing power which has almost lost all its value due to mismanagement by this incompetent administration.
“Today, public funds are spent without appropriation and proper accountability. Today, they have increased VAT to 7.5%. Today, they tax citizens to deposit their money in banks. Today, they tax citizens for withdrawal of their money.
“Today, they ask citizens to pay stamp duty and the money is not accounted for. Today, citizens pay increased electricity tariff with no reciprocal electricity supply.
“Today, they have borrowed money both locally and internationally more than any other government in our history yet they cannot pay workers minimum wage. Beyond these obnoxious policies, citizens are daily denied their basic rights to freedom of expression.
“The government has failed in its basic duty which is protection of lives and property. Today, all parts of the country are insecure with bandits and terrorist raping and destroying.
“The economy is bad because the leader has no capacity to govern and has surrendered his functions to unelected people. Citizens are charged to court for terrorism for merely speaking out against this misrule, while his supporters are asking for 3rd term and working assiduously to achieve such unconstitutional ambition.
“This administration failed on electoral reform, it failed on security, it failed on economy, it failed on the fight against corruption, it has failed to make any worthy investment in the health sector, it has failed to record any success in education, foreign investments is lower than it used to be and Nigeria is daily sinking deeper into the poverty gully and our once growing economy is now the centre of poverty in the world.
“The Judiciary is daily being emasculated. Judges are petitioned against if they rule against government interest, this attack on judges was carried out to silence the judiciary and use it as clearing house. Disobedience to lawful orders of court by the government is now the order of the day.”
It, however, said all hope was not lost if the PDP candidate wins at the Supreme Court.
“The way out is in the hands of the Supreme Court justices who will be called upon to rule in the interest of the law, national interest, unification and enthronement of a competent leadership and that journey starts with the composition of the membership of the presidential election appeal panel that will hear Atiku’s appeal at the Supreme Court,” it said.