By Amb. Comr. Ediwe Ebeneze Alex.
Following the ruling of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) on the 6th of September, 2023 in the general election held on February 25th this year and in the case between Tinubu-Atiku-Obi, H. E. Onyesom WIKE should stop parading himself as the minister of the FCT.
In a bid to make a mockery of the Nigerian Constitution owing to the FCT 25% winning clause as enshrined in the Constitution and making it a standing requirement for any presidential candidate, PEPT ruled that Abuja is like any other state and cannot be given any special relevance or preference in deciding the outcome of the presidential elections.
While this may sound logically correct or incorrect as the case may be depending on what divide one finds himself, seven things are of paramount significance:
- If the FCT is like any other state then the ministry of FCT should be scrapped with immediate effect and the minister of FCT relocated to another ministry or dropped as a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, or assigned any other appointment as it concerns the presidency and NOT Abuja.
- Abuja and the FCT can no longer headquarter all the Federal Government ministries and Government parastatals.
- The Abuja indigenous people should be made to elect a governor and elect their members of the House of Assembly.
- The ideology of having a National Assembly comprising 109 Senators and 360 Members of Representatives is no longer viable since every state will be having its independent law making arms to make laws as it concerns their welfare.
- Federal Executive Council (FEC) meetings can no longer be stationed in the FCT. It should be meant to rotate from state to state.
- There should be an amendment of the Constitution to accommodate the president (elected) and the governor (elected) in one state (Abuja) clearly spelling out separation of powers.
- Then Nigeria should be pronounced officially as 37 states and NOT 36 states and capital.
The PEPT judges did everything within its powers to justify illegality in this judgment however it outrightly mocked the Nigerian Constitution and murdered justice. A daylight rape on democracy to the end of remaining glued to power as the bane of leadership in Africa and justifying why they compromised and sold the nation for a paltry.
On the strength of this judgment Abuja indigenes should seek redress in court and advocate strongly for their own governor and members house of assembly. If the court fails to grant them these privileges as enjoyed by every other state in Nigeria then the Supreme Court should reverse the judgment of PEPT as a judicial shame or rascality and restore sanity in the system as the arbiter of justice.
