CSO urges Tinubu to dissociate self from Counsel, Dokubo’s anti- democratic utterances
By Tunde Opalana
A civil society organisation, Coalition for the Protection of Democracy (COPDEM) has called on President Bola Tinubu not to only dissociate himself from but to openly condemn anti- democratic statements by a legal luminary and a Niger Delta right activist, Asari Dokubo.
The president was asked to publicly distanced himself and his administration from utterances capable of causing disaffection in the polity and stability to the unity of the country.
The COPDEM at a press conference held in Abuja on Thursday called the attention of President Tinubu to a widely condemned comment by one of the counsels representing him and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the ongoing Presidential Election Petition Court that there will be chaos in the country should the tribunal upturn the results of the February 28,2023 presidential election won by Tinubu.
In addition, COPDEM particularly “call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his government to dissociate themselves from Asari Dokubo and his machinations in the name of supporting the president. It is a threat to the peace and unity of the country.”
Addressing the press, Danjuma Garba Musa , Spokesperson of COPDEM said
Nigerian patriots, democrats and the legal profession considered such statement as a threat to the judiciary as an institution and the nation’s nascent democracy.
“These are salient indications that our democracy is being threatened and must be protected by patriotic citizens through campaign projects that focus on government policies and actions as well as tasking the government to be responsive, transparent, prudent and democratic in all its policies and actions.
These can only be achieved through functional checks and balances among the arms of government through clear separation of powers and upholding the tenets of rule of law, unbiased and independent judiciary, active participation of citizens in politics and governance, among others.
“In addition, a group of APC supporters have also come out to tell the world
that “only God can remove Bola Ahmed Tinubu from office”. This statement is made out of sheer contempt and ignorance of the functions
of the judiciary in democracy. The president like every other person is subject to the rule of law in a functional democracy.
“It is a threat to the judiciary and rule of law for a senior advocate of Nigeria to
presume and invoke anarchy in Nigeria if the victory of his client Bola Ahmed
Tinubu is judiciously overturned by the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal
(PEPT) before the whole world.
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“The requirement of 25% in the FCT is in the Nigerian constitution not a party constitution. Upholding the provisions of the constitution is a fundamental democratic ideal while its interpretation and determination for all intents are the sole mandates of the judiciary.
“Notably, such insinuations are threats to the peace and unity of Nigeria and therefore must be condemned and withdrawn.
“We condemn in strong terms such unguided and unguarded utterances
in the name of drumming support for the President for cheap political goals as
anti-judicial, anti-democratic and capable of directly undermining our core
democratic values,” stated COPDEM.
The CSO argued that any threats to the judiciary is a threat to democracy while it expressed its belief in the rule of law and justice, stressing that justice is the ultimate pillar of any democracy, which must be done and be seen to done.
The body urged President Tinubu to dissociate himself from such anti- democratic aberrations in line with his commitment to democracy and to
express his readiness to accept the verdict of the court whether it is for him or against him and to challenge same in accordance with the rule of law.
