The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has described remarks attributed to a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Kenneth Okonkwo, suggesting that President Bola Tinubu can now “rule Nigeria with the military” following a Supreme Court verdict relating to the emergency rule in Rivers State, as “reckless and misleading”.
The party said such remarks by Okonkwo were not only false but also “intellectually dishonest”, stressing that Supreme Court verdicts are not military decrees.
Mogaji Seye Oladejo, spokesman of the state arm of the party, said the Supreme Court did not suspend democracy in Rivers State but merely interpreted the law as empowered by the Nigerian Constitution.
In a statement he signed, Oladejo said that in a constitutional democracy, court decisions may disappoint political actors, but they are binding on all.
According to Oladejo: “A Supreme Court judgment is the highest expression of constitutional authority in a democracy. It is neither a military fiat nor an executive directive. To deliberately conflate a judicial verdict with military rule is to either misunderstand the basic workings of democracy or to willfully mislead the public for partisan ends.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, contrary to the alarmist narrative being peddled, has neither sought nor exercised extra-constitutional powers. His democratic credentials are well established.
“He was a frontline opponent of military dictatorship, a victim of repression, and a contributor to the restoration of civil rule in Nigeria. The suggestion that such a leader would now govern by military proxy is as absurd as it is insulting.”
Credit: dailypost.ng
