• Thursday, March 28, 2024
businessday logo

BusinessDay

2019 Presidential Election: Presidency hails Supreme Court rulings

Buhari

The Presidency on Friday said it welcomed the elucidation of the Supreme Court ruling on the PDP petition.
The apex court had in the unanimous judgment delivered by Justice John Okoro, stated that President Buhari was eminently qualified having met the requirements stipulated in Section 131 (d) of the Constitution that provides that  an aspirant to the position of president should be educated to the secondary school level or primary six and have served in the public service for ten years and attend training , with ability to read and  write in English Language and any other qualifications acceptable to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The court ruled that it accepted the primary School certificate presented by President Buhari, the certified copy of his  Cambridge certificate, certified copy of his West African School Certificate (WASC),  his group photograph of  Katsina Secondary School and commendation letter from the Commandant of US War College for the then Major  Muhammadu Buhari  as well as his long service in public service two years of which he served as military Head of State and four years as  President had sufficed for the qualification requirement.

According to the judgement which was prepared by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Tanko Muhammad, an aspirant who possessed any of the qualifications stipulated in the section is qualified to contest for the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

Justice Muhammad also held that neither the  Constitution nor the electoral act requires the respondent to attach certificate to INEC nomination form CF 001.

On the variation in the name between Mohamed Buhari as contained in the certificates and Muhammadu Buhari which he presently bears, the court agreed with the the finding of the lower court that the names referred to the same person and resolved issues one and two in favour of Buhari.

Presidency, in its reactions to the judgement reiterated that the onus of proof must necessarily fall on those that challenge the vote.

“Allegations must be substantiated if they are to hold, and this requires producing credible witnesses that verify key claims. As the Supreme Court has stated, the case failed this test.

Presidency also noted that President Buhari has a long history of service to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which qualifies him to contest for the office of the President

“The questioning of this fact seems to fly in the face of all evidence.

“However, now it is time for the PDP to take up the service mandated by this election.

“The legislative agenda of the ninth assembly is ambitious in both size and scope. It is critical the opposition is there to scrutinise bills and policies, rather than preoccupy themselves with unsustainable court cases.

Presidency while appreciating the PDP and its candidate for taking these claims to courts rather than expressing them in other ways, stated that “ now Nigeria needs a robust and rigorous opposition. The nation needs to move on.”

“While it is correct to give credit to the courts for affirming this electoral victory-and we commend the courage of the bench to arrive at the right conclusion given manifest and subtle pressures to do otherwise-the reality is that courts were convinced by arguments from the lawyers representing the APC and its candidate, President Muhammadu Buhari that results reflected the true wishes of a majority of our citizens.

“President Buhari won four million more votes than his closest rival, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in the February poll.

According to the Presidency, “No serious electoral observers have challenged this result. And now the Supreme Court has explained why the PDP appeal is unsubstantiated. We hope this finally puts the matter behind us.

“We should now grasp this moment to move forward – together.”

 

Tony Ailemen, Abuja