Bode George condemned the Appeal Court’s decision, saying the judges should have ordered a re-run
By Kehinde Okeowo
A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George, has said ” the unholy alliances between some politicians and judges are dangerous to our democracy”.
The former military governor made this known on Monday, while addressing a press conference in Lagos following the controversy that trailed the Appeal Court’s verdict in the Kano State Governorship election.
Recall that the appellate court recently upheld the judgement of the state election tribunal which nullified the election of Governor Abba Yusuf of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) and declared Nasir Gawuna of All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the governorship election in the state.
However, confusion broke out when the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgement which made the rounds after the verdict revealed that the Appeal Court affirmed Yusuf as Kano governor.
Despite the court’s attribution of the discrepancy to a clerical error, many Nigerians have slammed the judiciary for creating the confusion.
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Speaking on the development, Bode George condemned the decision of the judges to upturn the election, arguing they should at best order a re-run.
He went on to say the mix-up from the judiciary was worrisome because anarchy looms when citizens no longer trust the third arm of government.
He said: “This system is worrisome because if the people don’t believe in the third arm of government anymore, anarchy looms.
“Obviously, the unholy alliances between some politicians and judges are dangerous to our democracy. Millions of people will come out on the day of the election, queue, collect ballot papers, and cast their votes for their preferred candidates, results will be announced, and everybody will jubilate only for three, five, or seven judges to upturn the popular will of the people.
“The best the judiciary must do in political cases is to adjudicate, and where there are discrepancies, order a rerun without giving victory to party A or B.
“It is wrong to remove the power of the electorate to elect political leaders and for the judiciary to tell us who the winners are. This is not good for Nigeria. This is not good for our electoral system. A compromised judiciary is dangerous.”