Former National Vice-Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Olabode George, has expressed displeasure over the role of the judiciary in electoral matters in Nigeria.
The elder statesman said it should not be rested on the judiciary to tell Nigerians who won a particular election.
According to him, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, should be able to stand its ground in making the right decision at all costs, even if it takes conducting multiple elections to arrive at the right results.
The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, on Monday, announced its readiness to deliver judgment on the petitions filed in the aftermath of the 2023 presidential election.
Peter Obi of the Labour Party, LP, and former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, are challenging the victory of Bola Tinubu as declared by INEC on March 1, 2023.
George insisted that it is wrong that Nigerians should be waiting for a court to declare the winner of elections, warning the judiciary against taking away the rights of the people to determine election winners.
“The most contentious issue in Nigeria today is the judiciary, it is one of the pillars of government,” he said in a press briefing in Lagos on Monday.
“Is it right for the judiciary to tell us who won or lost the election? What we understand by democracy is government of the people by the people and for the people but in our own case, it shouldn’t be government of the judiciary by the judiciary and for the judiciary. Is that democratic?
“It is the will of the people that should prevail. If you discover any wrong, ask them to go back and conduct a fresh election even if it takes a hundred times. The job of the judiciary is not to tell us who lost or who won.”
