Presidency: Atiku yet to recover from shock of defeat | Blackmailing judiciary will fail

The presidency says Atiku Abubakar, candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), is yet to recover from the “shock of defeat he suffered” in the last presidential election.

In a statement on Saturday, Dele Alake, special adviser on special duties, communications and strategy to President Bola Tinubu, said the former vice president was “making spurious and wild allegations aimed at disparaging and discrediting an important arm of government that should serve as the bulwark for our democracy”. 

The statement was in response to an allegation by Paul Ibe, media aide to Abubakar, earlier on Saturday, that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and agents of Tinubu have “ceaselessly chosen to stand in the way of justice by making “catastrophic threats to anarchy if justice is not served according to their whims”.

The APC on its part, described the allegation as “arrant nonsense”, noting that the PDP candidate was trying to “deflect the shame of a highly probable defeat” in the presidential electoral tribunal by making “mischievous allegations”.

Alake said Abubakar did not put forward any convincing argument to support his claims on how the Tinubu-led administration and APC sought to “undercut, undermine and compromise the judiciary”.

“In the ill-thought-out and illogical statement, Alhaji Atiku accused the current administration of the governing APC of plotting to undermine the judiciary without providing any shred of evidence,” the statement reads.

“Apart from innuendos, insinuations and outright lies contained in the said press statement, the former Vice President Atiku didn’t put forward any convincing argument to support his claims on how the President Tinubu-led administration and APC sought to undercut,  undermine and compromise the judiciary. 

“If the former Vice President believes in democracy and the sanctity of the Judiciary, as claimed, he would not engage in making spurious and wild allegations aimed at disparaging and discrediting an important arm of government that should serve as the bulwark for our democracy. 

“He shamelessly resorted to this cheap attempt to intimidate and blackmail the judiciary even when he is a party to a case before the presidential election tribunal.

“Let it be said that when it comes to matters of fighting for democracy and democratic ideals, the rule of law and independence of the Judiciary in Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu stands shoulder above Atiku Abubakar. When President Tinubu was leading the charge against the emasculation of the judiciary and promoting the sanctity of the rule of law as the building block for good governance as governor of Lagos state between 1999-2007, under a PDP central government, Alhaji Atiku was nowhere to be found. 

“It is on record and to his eternal credit that President Tinubu, through the instrumentality of the law and judiciary, successfully challenged many of the draconian and obnoxious decisions of the PDP-led federal government that trampled on the rights of the states as federating units. Lagos State under the leadership of the then governor Tinubu won over 13 cases up to the supreme court against the hydra-headed PDP administration at the centre. 

“No leader with such a sterling and enviable credential as a champion of rule of law, and independence of the judiciary like President Tinubu will ever contemplate undermining the Judiciary as alleged by Alhaji Atiku.

“President Tinubu won a free, fair and credible election. The February 25th, 2023 presidential election that produced him is the most transparent election ever conducted in Nigeria since 1999. 

“President Tinubu and the APC absolutely have no reason to undermine the judiciary in the hope of any favourable judgement. 

“His lawyers and that of APC have presented a very solid defence of the result of the election and we are sure the judiciary will impartially deliver its ruling on the basis of points of law and evidence before it, not based on presumptuous speculations and unfounded accusations. 

“Atiku Abubakar should be honourable enough as a statesman to allow the judiciary to perform its sacred duty without harassment and this resort to self-help. Attempting to discredit an important institution of state for selfish political ends is disingenuous, shameful and unbecoming of a former vice president of Nigeria. This desperation must stop.”