Obasanjo’s aid charges judiciary to reclaim its integrity, using presidential election tribunal

By Abbanobi – Eku Onyeka

A senior lawyer, Handel Okoli Esq, who served as Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to Chief Olusegun Obasanjo as president of Nigeria has charged Nigerian judiciary to use the presidential election tribunal to reclaim its integrity and neutrality.

Chief Okoli gave the charge to Nigerian judiciary at an interview with our correspondent, shortly after the Monthly Breakfast Meeting organised by Montage Africa Media Limited, the publishers of among others, New National Star Newspaper Tuesday.

While sending his message across, with regard to what he said is expected from the judiciary after the general electuons, the lawyer said: “I want to bring my input on independent observers, foreign news media that came to Nigeria to observe the elections and they are saying that the ekections were deeply flawed.

“Judiciary has been of a concern to lawyers and non lawyers alike and there is a budden to the judiciary to begin to reclaim its integrity and neutrality. May be one of the ways to do this is to allow live coverage of the presidential election teibunal. It will give lawyers and non lawyers alike and the international communities on the spot assessment of the proceedings. Even if you are not a lawyer and you can understand English, there are things they can see and hear

“There are lawyer who are not Nigerians and there are lawyers who are out of Nigeria. Let it be an open trial for the first time; I think that the country should have an open trial.”

He however commended the media organisation for organizing an event of that nature, saying that it would go a long way to not only address certain wrongs, but also srtrengthen democracy.

Calling on the northerners to stay clear of leadership of the national assembly, the chairman of the occation, Sen Ndoma Egba, while granting our correspondent interview said that the event woild make an impact to address certain issues and move democracy forward

Although a participant from Free Nigeria Movement, Oby Elekwa called for cancellation of the election, with the reason that it was flawed, adding that if it is not cancelled, there may be no true democracy in the country, but the chairman on his own said that camcellation of the election should be at the instance of the court.

Still talking against calls for cancellation of the election, Egba, a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), while maintaining that it is uncalled for, since the case is already with the judiciary, he said: “I was the secretary of the Directorate of the Election Planning and we projected that we were going to win 26 states and we failed and won in only 12.

He continued: “In the last election, the APC won in 19 states. It is a question of failed expectations, not cancelling of the elections. Everybody has his/her own exoectstions; some were met and some weren’t. So the cancellatioon is for the court and the case is already in the court. So I think that we should submit ourselves to the procedures of the constitution.”

Speaking on the critical nature of elecion, Ndoma Egba therefore said thst it is through elections that those who rule derive authority, even as he added that governing without authority brings about the highest aspect of corruption. “So it is very necessary that we get our election processes right,” he advised.