President Goodluck Jonathan may have
prevailed on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) not to challenge
President-elect Gen. Muhammadu Buhari’s victory in last Saturday’s
election.
Instead of planning a case for the
Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal, the Presidency will raise a
Transition Committee on Tuesday.
Vice President-elect Prof. Yemi Osinbajo
is likely to head the All Progressives Congress (APC) team which will
join the committee ahead of the May 29 transition.
Ministers have started preparing their handover notes, it was also learnt.
It was gathered that although some PDP
stalwarts wanted Buhari’s victory challenged at the tribunal, the
President thought otherwise.
The party stalwarts, it was said,
believe that some irregularities in some states are strong enough to
upturn the final results of the election, which was hailed at home and
abroad as substantially credible. Jonathan, it was learnt, said it made
no sense —contesting Buhari’s victory— after he had conceded defeat.
It was learnt that the PDP leaders
referred to the electoral scenario in Ekiti where the All
Progressives Congress(APC) went to tribunal despite the acceptance of
defeat by ex-Governor Kayode Fayemi.
The President, however, stood his ground that he would rather stand by his statesmanship attitude than going to tribunal.
A source, who spoke in confidence, said:
“The President has prevailed on PDP to drop plans to go to tribunal
against Buhari. He said he wants his word to be his bond, having been
applauded by the international community.
“At a point, Jonathan said ‘I don’t
believe in post-election petition at tribunal because it distracts the
incoming administration’.
“He also said Nigeria must emulate other
nations where once the presidential poll is lost and won, the new
government must not be distracted with election petitions.
“He told party leaders that he was not interested in going to the tribunal. It is now left for PDP leaders to heed his advice.
“So as at Thursday, the government’s position is that the PDP should not go to tribunal.”
Stating the PDP’s position on the
elections in a statement yesterday, Chairman Adamu Mu’azu, said: “We
have received reports of serious irregularities that characterized the
conduct of the election and we shall channel our protests to the
appropriate quarters in line with our profound respect for the rule of
law and democratic ethos.”
He did not say whether the party would
go to the tribunal but added: “What is paramount to us is the survival
of our democracy, the unity, peace and progress of our dear nation and
the happiness of all our people. Nigeria is bigger than any political
party, individual or group and her overall interest must be our priority
at all times.”
The President in 2010 at the 15th summit
of the African Union (AU) in Kampala, Uganda described post-election
litigation as a major distraction to governance.
Jonathan said: “It is inconvenient to already be in office and be thinking about election litigation.
“The essence of the immunity clause in
the constitution is that if a president or a governor takes an oath of
office, he should sit down and concentrate on the job and when he leaves
office, he could be prosecuted for any offence.
“But because of the way we conduct our
elections, the president who sits in office is still battling and being
distracted with election issues, and it affects us.”
The transition committee is likely to be constituted next week.
Another source added: “The Presidency is
working on a seamless transition from Jonathan’s administration to
Buhari’s. The details are being worked out.”
“I think by next week, the picture of
the transition committee will emerge. The government is working early on
the transition because it involves a lot of work.
“The APC team will have to collaborate with the committee and ask questions if there are grey areas.”
Meanwhile, Ministers have started
compiling their handover notes, which will be part of the integral
aspect of the report of the transition committee.
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