Why I Didn’t Approach Tribunal To Challenge Tinubu’s Victory – Sowore

Why I Didn’t Approach Tribunal To Challenge Tinubu’s Victory – Sowore

Omoyele Sowore, the African Action Congress (AAC) candidate in both the 2019 and 2023 presidential elections, elucidated on his decision not to approach the Presidential Election Tribunal to contest President Bola Tinubu’s victory in a March interview.

The candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, along with their respective parties, had submitted petitions contesting Tinubu’s triumph at the tribunal.

However, in an interview with Arise News, Sowore expressed a lack of confidence in the tribunal, citing the court’s historical track record of not delivering justice in election-related cases.

He further explained that he perceived no significant distinction between the PDP and the Labour Party, and consequently, chose to distance himself and his party from any collaboration with these parties in approaching the tribunal.

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Sowore stated, “What you’re saying about the Labour Party and the PDP aligns with what people like us have always asserted, that they are essentially the same.

“We are not part of that coalition or alliance. Regarding the court, if someone steals from you and you can retrieve it, but they insist you go to court, you have to await the court’s convening.

“However, a court that awarded a governorship to the fourth-place candidate in Imo state is unlikely to be the court I would turn to when I’m cheated on this scale. The court that hasn’t provided justice for individuals like me throughout my life in this country isn’t a court I can confidently say I trust, either implicitly or explicitly.

“If you go to court, you can almost predict the court’s decision.”

He also referenced how an election tribunal upheld the 2007 presidential election despite substantive evidence demonstrating the lack of credibility in the results.

Sowore continued, “Nigeria’s courts have never nullified a presidential election. Even in 2007, when they conducted an election in which there were no serial numbers on the ballot papers, the court declared that you don’t need serial numbers, and the person for whom the election was rigged, President Olusegun Obasanjo, that is Yar’Adua, came out and admitted that this election was problematic. He accepted the booty regardless.

“So, I don’t believe we are going to the court, which may not be capable or hasn’t delivered justice in similar cases for us.

“I think they’re directing these people to go to court to pacify the Nigerian people, so they accept this nonsense as a done deal.

“They made sure there were no uprisings on the streets to reclaim the stolen mandate from whatever fraudulent election they conducted.

“That’s why they’re guiding you to the courtroom because they already know what the outcome will be. We’re also aware of how these courts are composed by the political parties in power. So, we can’t be here fooling ourselves.”