In the midst of a heated controversy surrounding the allocation of 25% of votes in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the Labour Party (LP) has issued a call for the cancellation of the upcoming 2023 presidential election.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that Yunusa Tanko, the Chief Spokesman for the Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Council, made this announcement in response to a lawsuit seeking to halt the swearing-in of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as the President of Nigeria.
Tanko emphasized that the LP, along with their presidential candidate Peter Obi, hopes that the court will permit the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, to be sworn in temporarily until a permanent president is elected.
He said, “What I know in order not to sound presumptuous is that there will be a swearing-in on May 29 and if we get to win our case at the election petition tribunal, the swearing-in will only involve the president of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This is by the premises of section 146 (2).
“Our prayer is that the election should be cancelled and declared null and void. This should be the position since the APC candidate did not get 25 percent in Abuja. If defined deeply, it gives the power to section 146 of the Constitutional provision which states that “In the event that there is no president, the Senate president, Ahmad Lawan will take over”. If the present case goes the way we are praying, what it means is that Lawan will take over as president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“And if Lawan is not returned in the 10th Assembly, he must hand over to the newly elected president of the Senate on June 10. He will then ask for nine months to conduct a fresh election for the president of the country to emerge. That is how it should be to avoid lacuna anywhere.”
It is worth noting that this newspaper previously reported on the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba, who sternly warned political parties against inciting unrest during the presidential inauguration scheduled for May 29.
The IGP reiterated the unwavering sanctity of the inauguration date and vowed to safeguard democracy with the assistance of other security operatives.
During a press conference held at the Force Headquarters in Abuja on Monday, the police chief revealed that several prominent political figures, dissatisfied with the outcome of the 2023 General elections, have been publicly issuing threats aimed at provoking actions that could disrupt the inauguration ceremony.
