The All Progressives Congress (APC) has denied allegations that the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Olukayode Ariwoola, informed President Bola Tinubu to prepare for a rerun election.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that the allegations were made in a social media post by Jackson Ude, who claimed that the CJN’s private phone conversations with Tinubu, the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Yusuf Bichi, and two other Justices of the Supreme Court had been leaked to United States authorities.
Ude also alleged that the leakage of the conversations had resulted in two additional apex court justices being banned from entering the United States.
In a statement, the APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, said Ude’s allegations were “mischievous and intentionally misleading.”
Morka said President Tinubu and the APC won the February 25, 2023, Presidential election without a doubt, and do not have any need to engage in side conversations with the CJN regarding pending petitions before the Presidential Election Petitions Court.
He expressed confidence that Nigerians are “smarter and more discerning” than to be affected by Ude’s “opposition brand of tasteless and crass mercenary expedition.”
The statement reads:
ABUJA, FCT JULY 18, 2023
PRESS STATEMENT
PRESIDENT TINUBU HAD NO TELEPHONE CONVERSATION WITH CJN-THE COURTS SHOULD BE LEFT ALONE TO DO THEIR JOB
We have become aware of a decidedly mischievous and intentionally misleading tweet by one Mr Jackson Ude. He alleged that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was in telephone conversation with the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, in which the CJN purportedly told the President and APC to prepare for a presidential election rerun.
It is disturbing and disgraceful for Mr Ude to fabricate a falsehood of this kind on a matter of serious national importance that is actively under review by the Presidential Election Petitions Court (PEPC).
President Tinubu and our Party won the last Presidential election without a doubt, and do not have any need to engage in side conversations with the CJN regarding pending petitions before the PEPC. As the core democrat that he is, the President respects the right of aggrieved Candidates in the election to seek redress for any grievances that they may have. The Constitution and Electoral Act provide effective guarantees of that right..
The PEPC should be afforded the time and space to perform its important constitutional and statutory duty of adjudicating and delivering a verdict in the matter without needlessly calling the integrity of our Judges into question.
Falsehood and conjecture by the likes of Mr. Ude only aim to inflame political passions, create doubt and panic, and preemptively undermine the verdict of the Courts in this important matter.
We are confident that Nigerians are smarter and more discerning than to be affected by this opposition brand of tasteless and crass mercenary expedition.
Nigeria is a country where an idiot like Ude will wake up from sleep and fabricate a blatant lie and you see the lie trending on social media space without looking critically at the import of the lie. Even the dead ones are aware that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu won the February 25th presidential election on a clean slate.
That is why you and that owns you will continue to suffer in the hottest part of hell.
Fool
You are a big fool. An idiot that didn’t win 25% in Abuja, I mean FCT won the 25th February election?
You must be one of the dead o es that know that Tinubu won the election.
U are d useless and idiotic agbadorian! Get prepared to for exile
AND WHAT IS THE AUTHORITY DOING ABOUT THE MALICIOUS EVIL INTENT OF A FULL GROWN MISCHIEVIOUS FOOL.
A not too well-planned diabolical NONSENSE.?