“Election Petitions Were Resolved Before People Were Sworn in 1979; We Can Do That in 2023″—Igini
The Former Akwa Ibom Resident Electoral Commissioner, INEC Mike Igini, has agreed with the argument that election petitions made by Labour Party Candidate, Mr. Peter Obi should be resolved in the court before the sworn-in of the president-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The Lawyer speaking in an interview with Arise TV news stated that if Nigeria could resolve all election petitions in 1979 before sworn in, the Court can still replicate the good deeds that they have done in the past.
He stated, as a matter of fact, that swearing in a candidate before attending to court case will only cause the misuse of public funds to prosecute the cases at the Tribunal.
He alleged that Justice Uwais’s electoral reform has to be followed for the benefit of bringing sanity into the system. According to him, for sanity to exist in the Nation, court cases have to be settled before the swearing-in of the president-elect.
He said, ”We are in a country where whatever works for our county, we don’t want to do it again. Election petitions were resolved before people were sworn in 1979. We can do that in 2023. When you do that everybody will be up and doing. If you don’t do that, people go into public office and begin to use public money as legal fees.
“You start hearing billions of naira being used as legal fees. They get that from the funds meant for the people. Finally, on Justice Uwais’s election report, it is unfortunate that even though we talk about it, the election reform is not being followed.
“The entire recommendation was rejected. It was only President Goodluck Jonathan who appointed Professor Jega, who was a member of that committee. That is how we started the compilation of register. For sanity to prevail, it is clearer that disputes are resolved before people are swear in so that the business of governance can take place immediately.”
