Politics
The Lokoja Court Controversial Judgement On NDC And Other Matters -By Hajia Hadiza Mohammed
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) that emerged from the ruins of the PDP has been bogged down by a protracted legal tussles induced by the agents of Tinubu. And now the NDC that emerged as an alternative platform is now threatened by a controversial court order – all pointing to the fact that Tinubu does not want anybody on the ballot paper during the 2027 presidential election except him.
Wonders shall never end in Nigeria especially in this era of political desperation and horse trading. And so it is that a supposedly court of competent jurisdiction has reversed its earlier judgment on a matter of grave political concern. A federal high court in Lokoja that gave judgment in December ordering the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) has set aside its earlier judgment on the matter following a motion filed by Peace Movement Party (PMP) that it was excluded from initial lawsuit regarding the party logo. According to media report, the court declared the registration process null and void and ordered a fresh hearing and trial. The court ruled that their initial order was flawed because the PMP which claimed that NDC used the logo they had previously submitted to INEC was not heard in the initial suit.
As expected the strange court judgment has generated ripples and outrage among Nigerians. Many concerned observers are questioning the decision of the court to hear the PMT which is not even a registered political party in Nigeria. And again, the majority of Nigerians are pointing accusing fingers at the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and its presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu whose ambition it is to run the 2027 election as the sole presidential candidate. And, it is very unfortunate that Tinubu who in the past has claimed to fight for the enthronement of Democracy in Nigeria is hell bent on destroying Nigeria’s nascent democracy.
Tinubu has been in the saddle as Nigerian president for three years now following a flawed electoral process that foisted him on Nigerians on May 29th 2023. And for three years what Tinubu has given Nigerians are pain, misery and mass impoverishment. Tinubu has proved to be clueless, incompetent and visionless. He runs a government of mediocrity, nepotism and impunity. Corruption and been institutionalized; other arms of the government have been compromised while state institutions are weakened and are made to pander to the president’s personal ambition.
It is his personal desire and plan to turn Nigeria into a one-party state so as to have an easy victory in the forthcoming election in 2027. The main opposition political parties have been infiltrated and key political figures harassed and hounded by state security agents. The Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) is in ruins following the lethal injury inflicted on it by Nyesom Wike, Tinubu’s Minister of the Federal capital Territory (FCT) who has chosen to bestride the ruling APC and the PDP. The Labor Party (LP) has been destabilized by the infiltrators from the APC. The African Democratic Congress (ADC) that emerged from the ruins of the PDP has been bogged down by a protracted legal tussles induced by the agents of Tinubu. And now the NDC that emerged as an alternative platform is now threatened by a controversial court order – all pointing to the fact that Tinubu does not want anybody on the ballot paper during the 2027 presidential election except him.
It is incontrovertible that Tinubu’s ambition for self-succession is the biggest problem of Nigeria today. Tinubu has destroyed Nigeria’s democracy by his obsession to hold on to power beyond 2027. Tinubu and his stooges have no regard for the tenets of democracy. He does not believe in the rule of law or checks and balances. There is gross human rights violation, including the rights to self-defense, civil advocacy and civil disobedience. The case of worsening state of insecurity in the country today is traceable to Tinubu’s fixation to hold on to power at all costs. The security situation in the country is terrible despite huge defense spending because Tinubu’s interest is only on his re-election bid and not on the safety of those he has sworn on oath to protect. Insecurity has turned into a weapon of governance under Tinubu.
No doubt, the deplorable state of the country’s infrastructure and the economy is the result of neglect and a deliberate policy of the APC government to produce an impoverished population that could be easily bought with peanuts during the election period. There has been massive borrowing for phantom projects and the monies stacked up to finance the 2027 election. It is reported in the media recently the APC governors deducted from their state treasuries without appropriation a whooping sum of N800 billion to support Tinubu’s re-election bid. It is also in the World Bank report earlier in the year that that sum N34.5 trillion representing about 41% of government earnings between 2023 and 2025 did not reach the federation account. And the recent IMF report indicates that Nigerian government failed to record public spending estimated at N8 trillion, which is about 2% of the GDP, in the recent official budget. All these off-budget spending are avenues for self-enrichment to illegally appropriate public funds to finance Tinubu’s re-election bid.
If our democracy is to survive, Nigerians must stand up to challenge Tinubu’s shenanigans and corrupt tendencies. Nigerians must say no to harassment of the opposition. The opposition political figures must unite to say to Tinubu that enough is enough. We must tell Tinubu to remove his leprous fingers from the opposition and allow Nigerians decide their future.
Hajia Hadiza Mohammed
An actress, social activist, politician
London, UK