I don’t want to be remembered for my many fights — Obaseki

By Israel Arogbonlo  

Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi have discredited the written address filed by President Bola Tinubu following the outcome of the February 25 presidential elections describing the latter’s outburst as “desperation taken too far”.

In the written address dated July 14, the 2nd and 3rd respondents led by Wole Olanipekun (SAN), faulted the claims of Obi’s witnesses including the seventh witness, Clarita Ogah who had claimed to be a cloud engineer and a member of staff at Amazon.

The respondents also warned the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC), that misinterpreting the law as provided for in the constitution on the 25% of lawful votes cast in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, could “lead to absurdity, chaos, anarchy and alteration of the very intention of the legislature.”

However, the petitioners in their final written address filed by Obi’s lead counsel, Livy Uzoukwu (SAN), to the 2nd and 3rd respondents, said there will only be anarchy if the rule of law is truncated.

“This is a cheap, misguided, and destructive blackmail clearly intended to target the country’s judicialism and constitutionalism. It also aims at cannibalising our democracy.

“When has it become offensive for Petitioners to canvass a ground prescribed for the challenge of an election in section 134(1)(b) of the Electoral Act? Desperation taken too far can be extremely dangerous. Let the 2nd and 3rd Respondents (Tinubu and Shettima) know that where the rule of law is trampled upon or truncated, anarchy reigns supreme,” the written address partly read.

The court had given the petitioners and the respondents ten and seven days to file their written addresses and five days for the respondents to reply on points of law. (Tribune)