APC jittery God ‘can’ and ‘may’ sack Tinubu through the courts
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
“Only God can remove” Bola Tinubu from office, the Confederation of All Progressives Conference (APC) Support Groups has argued, a sign of pressure and unease in the party the election of the President may be ruled unlawful by the Presidential Election Petitions Court (PEPC).
Contrary to the arguments of Tinubu’s opponents at the PEPC, the coalition insisted Tinubu having won the February 25 presidential ballot, nobody can unseat him.
However, the petitions filed against Tinubu at PEPC by Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) contain allegations that stack huge odds against the President.
The major planks of the allegations of the petitioners, any of which either the PEPC or the Supreme Court may rely on to sack Tinubu, include:
- Tinubu’s failed to win at least 25 per cent of votes cast in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) mandated in Constitution.
- The Independent National Election Commission (INEC) violated its own published guidelines by failing to transmit electronically polling unit results live to its IReV.
- INEC declared Tinubu winner before the final collation of results.
- Tinubu did not score the highest lawful votes cast in the election.
- Tinubu forged his purported degree certificate from Chicago State University by stealing the identity of a female called Bola A. Tinubu – who filled her admission form with a biodata in which she identified herself as a female; that she was born in 1954 and attended Government College, Lagos.
- Tinubu the President previously claimed to have attended Government College, Ibadan; that he is a male, and was born in 1952.
- In the forms Tinubu submitted to the INEC, he committed perjury by swearing on oath that he owns documents that are not his.
- Tinubu did not dispute at the PEPC that he was a subject of an order of forfeiture made by the United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, in Case No: 93C 4483.
- “The order of forfeiture against [Tinubu] was in terms, forfeiting the sum of USD $460,000 against him, Bola Tinubu, which represents ‘proceeds of narcotics trafficking’ and ‘money laundry’.
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APC criticises Onaiyekan for rejecting Tinubu
In spite of these arguments, the coalition criticised the Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, for reportedly remarking that Tinubu “is not yet Nigeria’s President until the Presidential Election Petition Court says so.”
Muhammad Kialani, Director General, Confederation of All APC Support Groups in Kaduna expressed disappointment at Onaiyekan for opposing Tinubu’s Presidency, per reporting by The PUNCH.
Kialani called for Onaiyekan’s arrest and told him to step down from the pulpit and join politics.
“We woke up today and we saw on social media that those who are supposed to bring unity in diversity in this country, are the ones trying to bring war. They are the ones trying to bring crisis,” Kialani said.
“We don’t expect Archbishop John Onaiyekan to say that Tinubu is not yet Nigeria’s President. He said the election is not yet over and that we don’t have a President until the court said so.
“We, the Confederation of All APC Support Groups nationwide, condemn this in totality. We are not happy. Nigerians are not happy.
“We thought this man is a Yoruba man and our President, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, is a Yoruba man but he is castigating him. During the election, more than 80 per cent of the Yorubas didn’t vote for him, even the Afenifere.
“The likes of Pastor Tunde Bakare, Chief Bode George and the rest of them, they said that they don’t want him. We brought this President. Nobody can remove him. Only God can remove him. We have voted. Nigerians have spoken on the 25th of February, 2023.
“We are calling on all Nigerians not to support this move and we want him arrested because this will bring war.”
The group warned Onaiyekan not to lend himself to agents of destabilisation, saying it would not take such a move lightly.
It urged Onaiyekan “to come and join us in politics. Let him leave the pulpit. He should join us to see how we play politics in this country but not in his house where he is comfortable; where people are using him to destabilise us. We will not take it lightly. We are watching.”