APC Reacts As CJN Allegedly Tells Tinubu To Prepare For Rerun

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has described as mischievous and intentionally misleading a social media post which claimed that the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Olukayode Ariwoola, allegedly informed President Bola Tinubu to prepare for a rerun election.

Strategic Communication expert, Jackson Ude had alleged that the CJN’s private phone conversations with Tinubu, the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Yusuf Bichi, and two other Justices of the Supreme Court had been leaked to United States authorities.

The presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP), Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, are challenging the victory of Tinubu at the last presidential election.

Abubakar and Obi recently submitted their final written addresses after closing their respective cases at the election tribunal.

Reacting in a statement on Tuesday night, APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, said Ude fabricated a falsehood on a matter of serious national importance that is actively under review by the Presidential Election Petitions Court (PEPC).

Morka said President Tinubu and the APC won the presidential election without a doubt, and do not have any need to engage in side conversations with the CJN regarding pending petitions before the tribunal.

According to Morka, President Tinubu, as a core democrat, respects the right of aggrieved candidates in the election to seek redress for any grievances that they may have and will not interfere with the judicial process.

The APC spokesman, therefore, stated that the ruling party is confident that Nigerians are smart and discerning enough to disregard unsubstantiated claims.

The statement reads: “President Tinubu and our party won the last presidential election without a doubt, and do not have any need to engage in side conversations with the CJN regarding pending petitions before the PEPC.

“As the core democrat that he is, the president respects the right of aggrieved candidates in the election to seek redress for any grievances that they may have. The constitution and Electoral Act provide effective guarantees of that right.

“The PEPC should be afforded the time and space to perform its important constitutional and statutory duty of adjudicating and delivering a verdict in the matter without needlessly calling the integrity of our judges into question.

“Falsehood and conjecture by the likes of Mr. Ude only aim to inflame political passions, create doubt and panic, and preemptively undermine the verdict of the courts in this important matter.”