With the publications of personal particulars of all candidates for the Presidential and National Assembly candidates concluded by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has urged Nigerians to judge him with his track records as the nation’s former vice-president.
This is as he has aligned with the Supreme Court judgment on the Electoral Act, saying it was part of the process to guarantee the independence of the judiciary.
In a statement on Sunday, Atiku, said, “Our assets in this campaign are my track records of performance, when I served as vice-president between 1999 and 2007.
“The second asset is the policy document that details the work plan of what we shall do to rescue Nigeria back to her glorious heights. Above all, my attributes as a unifier and bridge-builder will stand us in good stead in this era characterised by disunity and absence of inclusion,” he stated.
According to the former vice-president, “Our opponents will want to confuse you with alternative facts as we progress and when the campaign starts in full. But I will urge you to always reman focused and remember that this is not why we are in the race.
“The urgency of the job to get Nigeria back on her feet as ONE People, with One Future and ONE Country cannot give us the luxury of playing to the gallery.
“My promise to you as we run this race together is that as your candidate, I shall ensure that we remain focused and disciplined. And I shall expect the same spirit of sportsmanship from you,” he said.
The former vice president said the 2023 election was neither about him nor any of the other candidates that he was contesting with or their agents, rather, he said, “It is about the pathway that our dear country, Nigeria, must chart into a brighter and more prosperous future.”
Commending the judgement, Atiku said, it was one of the ways to affirm the independence of the judiciary in Nigeria
The supreme court had struck out the suit challenging section 84(12) of Electoral Act.
Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation, on behalf of the federal government, had filed a suit challenging that section of the Electoral Act, 2022 on the grounds that it violated the rights of political appointees.
The section read: “No political appointee at any level shall be a voting delegate or be voted for at the convention or congress of any political party for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election.”
In the judgment delivered on Friday, a seven-member pane of judges led by Musa Dattijo-Muhammad, dismissed the suit, describing it as an abuse of court process.
In his reaction, however, the former vice-president, said, “the ruling of the Supreme Court on Section 84 (12) is commendable.
“It affirms my position of the independence of the judiciary and the other arms of government, namely the legislature and the executive, which is the bedrock for the development of any nation.
‘Under no circumstance must one arm lord over another arm of government,” Atiku wrote on his verified tweeter handle.
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