Jesusegun Alagbe
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Olisa
Agbakoba, has urged the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic
Party in last Saturday’s election, Atiku Abubakar, not to approach the
court because of his loss.
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Atiku lost the
presidential election to incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari of the All
Progressives Congress in a keenly fought contest.
Buhari
had polled 15,191,847 votes, ahead of Atiku’s 11,262,978, to be
declared the winner of the election by the Chairman of the Independent
National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.
However, Atiku rejected the presidential election outcome on Wednesday, saying he would challenge it in court.
He said the election was not free or fair, and that it was full of many irregularities.
But
in a piece titled, ‘2019 Presidential Election: Ethnic Consideration vs
Governance Consideration,’ written by Agbakoba on Wednesday, the legal
practitioner advised Atiku against approaching the court, but to accept
the outcome in faith.
Agbakoba said, “I understand the PDP is
aggrieved at the outcome of the election and alleged massive
irregularities. I urge former Vice President Atiku Abubakar not to
approach the Election Petition Tribunal.
“He might have (been)
moved backwards by his loss, but he should not lose sight of the legacy
and greatness that lie in front of him.”
The SAN described Atiku
as being in a position to take up the mantle of a statesman and build a
‘new Nigeria movement’ from the array of small parties, third force
actors, change actors and millions who were desperate for a strong and
united Nigeria.
“There is also a lot of work to be done in both
political and electoral reforms. I request former Vice President Atiku
Abubakar to step into the shoes,” he said.
Agbakoba however said he did not mean that the election was devoid of irregularities.
He
said, “I can see how tempting it is to take the option of the Election
Petition Tribunal. But that, in my view, is not the right decision.
“We
look forward to a new Nigeria, strong and united; a new Nigeria that
will not vote on the basis of ethnic and primordial sentiments.”
The
SAN noted that the voting pattern of last Saturday’s presidential
election showed that ethnicity played a significant role result.
He said both the APC and the PDP benefited from “primordial voting.”
“The excepted zone is the South-West, where voting occurred on the basis of issues.
“The significance and consequence of the 2019 presidential election are huge unless we are able to reverse it.
“2023 will follow the pattern of 2019 unless we do something about it,” Agbakoba said.
Source:- Punchng
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