May 05, (THEWILL) – The Bishop Emeritus of the Archdiocese of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, has faulted the electoral system, which allowed the inauguration of elected officials before the conclusion of the election tribunal.
His position is coming a few days to the May 29 inauguration of elected officials, including the President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The declaration of Bola Tinubu, presidential candidate of the APC, by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the winner of the February 25 election, is being challenged in court by Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP). The Presidential Election Tribunal has fixed May 8 for the hearing of the petitions.
Speaking during a Channels Television interview on Thursday, Onaiyekan called for a review of the electoral system to ensure free and fair polls.
According to the clergy, if Nigerians really want to practice democracy, they must desist from manipulating elections.
He argued that it was unreasonable that after chasing away the military, which ruled Nigeria with the barrel of a gun, it now has to deal with a political class that wins elections fraudulently because they have massive resources at their disposal.
His words: “I am saying this because according to the electoral law, the elections are not over until it is over. And there are cases in court that have not been disposed of. That is why we’re in an anomalous situation.
“We have a declared president-elect, whose election is being challenged and the courts are handling it. I think I’m entitled to take the position that I’m still waiting for the courts to tell me who won the election.
“That is why I say we’re in an anomalous situation. And I’m one of those who have been saying it doesn’t make much sense to be swearing in people when they are still in court.
“I know it has happened with governors. But, the outcome has really not been the best of all cases. I think we ought to review our election process so as to make sure that we do have a winner, who will be sworn in and everybody will rally around. I cannot understand it. I’m not a legal man. I’m not a judge.
“It’s a pity that it’s taking so long for the courts to make up their minds on this matter.”
While calling for an overhaul of the entire electoral system, Onaiyekan stressed that the courts have had to intervene because the country’s balloting process was faulty.
“My problem now is that the whole system of our election needs to be properly reviewed so that it should be easier for winners to emerge according to the wishes of the people. I even have very basic questions.
“Do we really want democracy? From what we have seen from political actors, it seems many of them are not really interested in democracy. They want power by all means.
“This is an issue we must agree on. Do you know that for 30 years, this country was ruled by people who had guns, not by democracy? We were forced to obey everybody and they became presidents one after the other.
“But, we agreed after that that was not the way for Nigeria to move. If we don’t want it with people carrying guns, well, I don’t think we should be accepting it with people who can just manipulate the system and frustrate the wishes of the people because they have resources.
“The country cannot wait indefinitely. The point I am making is that obviously, it is the people who decide who should be the ruler. But, all things being equal, the process that INEC is supposed to work on should have brought out a winner that is acceptable to the people.
“The courts have come in because there’s a discrepancy. It confirms my feelings that it is not right to have a system that is constantly contested.
“We should go and find out how it is that every election is being contested. And I think we need to look more carefully at the constitution of INEC. How independent is it? How is it able to actually come out with the wishes of the people?” he added.
However, in a swift reaction, Festus Keyamo, Minister of State for Labour and Employment and former Chief Spokesman for the Tinubu Campaign Council, has accused the frontline cleric of bias.
In a tweet, Keyamo said Onaiyekan was going against the President-elect because he was not his preferred candidate during the elections.
He wrote: “Dear Daddy Onaiyekan, you know we all respect you a lot, but your political comments are becoming unstatesmanlike.
“A statesman, who doubles as a Man of God, should strive to be fair to all. You didn’t say the same thing when Obasanjo, Yar’Adua, Jonathan and Buhari were all sworn in as Presidents when their cases were still before the courts.
“You have chosen to single out this President-elect @officialABAT this time around because the candidate you and your other religious brethren openly supported lost the election and you all feel humiliated and embarrassed. All issues raised against the victory of @officialABAT in court now (whether it is 25% votes in FCT or the fake drug issue, etc), are not different from issues raised against previous Presidents-elect because basically, the complaints have always been that the declared victor did not win the election fair and square or was not qualified to contest the election.
“No disqualifying issue against a candidate can be greater than other disqualifying issues since a single issue can decide a case against a President-elect.
“So, why all the fuse now? It has always been our electoral template since 1999 for the declared winners to be sworn into office in order TO AVOID A VACUUM and not to foist an unconstitutional contraption on the system whilst the cases are in court.”
Keyamo advised Onaiyekan to respectfully consider stepping back from the murky waters of politics and desist from descending into the arena of political conflicts.
He added: “My dear Daddy, may I respectfully advise that going forward, you and your brethren may consider stepping back from the deep and murky waters of politics and desist from descending into the arena of political conflicts where your children in your congregations find themselves on different sides of political divides, so it would be unfair to them for you to openly take sides.
“The embarrassment to the Body of Christ is getting too much and no politician is worth dragging this dignified body into unnecessary political controversy. Is this too much to ask, Daddy?”
