I would not write off the new CJN prematurely, says Atedo Peterside on Edo poll

Atedo Peterside, the founder of Stanbic IBTC and Anap Foundation, has expressed optimism in the judiciary, saying that he wouldn’t prematurely write off the new Chief Justice of Nigeria, Kudirat Kekere-Ekun.

Peterside said this in a post on his X account on Friday, urging the opposition to challenge the outcome of the just concluded Edo gubernatorial election in court.

On Sunday, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Monday Okpebholo, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate winner of Saturday’s gubernatorial election.

Okpebholo, the Senator representing Edo Central, won 11 out of 18 local government areas in the state with 291,667 votes. He defeated 16 other contenders in the election which has been widely disputed.

Ighodalo of the PDP won seven local government councils, garnering 247,274 votes to become the first runner-up. Labour Party (LP)’s Olumide Akpata came in a distant third with just 22,763 votes.

However, Peterside shared manipulated results from the poll obtained from the INEC Result Viewing (IREV) Portal, encouraging the PDP and its candidate to challenge the election in court.

In four different results posted by Peterside, the APC won, securing more votes than the number of accredited voters or recorded 98.5% voter turnout at the polling units, despite 22.2% turnout recorded across the state on election day.

Reacting to Peterside’s post, an X user, @Hon_oluwatosin, expressed pessimism about the judiciary, noting that the new CJN delivered the popular Imo election judgement, which led to the emergence of Uzodinma (4th position in the poll) as governor.

“To challenge it isn’t the problem but at which judicial system? The judges from which country?
If eventually, they landed at SP Court, the woman who moved Uzodinma from 4th to 1st is now the Number 1 judge in the country. The only institution we need to challenge now is INEC,” Oluwatosin said.

Responding to the comment, the founder of Anap Foundation said the new CJN shouldn’t be write off prematurely, urging the plaintiffs to present their case along with evidence and expertly.

“It is important to remember the words of Oscar Wilde: “Every Saint Has a Past, Every Sinner Has a Future”. In life, it is important to do what you need to do i.e. present your case, along with the evidence, expertly. I would not write off the new CJN prematurely. Let us think positively,” he said.