PEPT: ‘Don’t decide winner,’ Bode George,calls for fresh election

Bode George, former deputy national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has warned members of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal to be wary of the judgment they will give over the presidential election petition.

Addressing media men in his office yesterday evening in Lagos, George said even if the procedure of the Presidential poll were full of anomalies, it would be wrong for the tribunal to declare any of the presidential candidates the winner.

George noted that the tribunal should instead order a fresh election, saying that the number of times the poll is conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before getting it right does not matter, but what is essential is that the people’s will prevailed.

Read also Tinubu expresses confidence about Wednesday’s tribunal judgement

According to Bode George, “Whoever eventually comes up or emerges winner after the Tribunal litigation and I am saying, if the judiciary pronounces anybody the president with this shambolic procedure utilised for the last general elections, it is a shame for this country It will be a shame.

“The judiciary should never go to that wrath; the procedure is faulty; they should go back and conduct a fresh election.

“If it takes them one million times to get things right, they should go back and conduct another election.

“Otherwise, if the tribunal pronounces Mr A or Mr B the winner of that shambolic elections, then Nigeria’s democracy will be redefined as the government of the judiciary for the judiciary by the judiciary. Is that a democracy?”

Read also Tinubu’s election victory to be decided by tribunal Wednesday

Commenting on the N5 billion given to each federation state as soothing for the people for the Petrol subsidy removal, George stated that giving each state the exact amount irrespective of the population was unjustified.

He further stated that the palliative money would not be judiciously used to benefit the people while criticizing the Bola Tinubu administration for lacking ideas on fighting poverty in the country.

“How can you give Lagos State, with over 22 million population, the exact amount as Bayelsa State, with just 2 million people?

“Look at Kano State with a thick population, and you are giving them the same amount as Jigawa. Does that make sense”,?