Amid ongoing public uproar that has trailed the European Union’s post-election report in Nigeria, renowned lawyer and former Federal House Of Reps member, Kayode Oladele has questioned the rationale behind the decision taken by the Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Peter Gregory Obi to tender the said report as evidence at the ongoing Election Petitions Tribunal.
In an official statement sighted by Sahara Reporters on Friday, Oladele alleged that Obi’s decision to tender the EU’s report as evidence in court suggests that the document challenging the credibility of the APC’s victory at the polls, was written and submitted to sway the mind of the judiciary in favor of the Labour Party presidential candidate. He went on to describe the report as “partisan, biased, and ill-timed”.
To buttress his point, Oladele, who represented Yewa North/Imeko-Afon Federal Constituency in Ogun State on the platform of the APC (2015 – 2019), argued that it was quite suspicious for the EU to release such a damning report at a time when election petitions were still being heard at the tribunal. According to him, such an act was in breach of Section 6(6b) of the Nigerian Constitution which frowns at any external attempt to influence the decisions of the judiciary in such matters.
He said; “These principles of the powers held by the judiciary have been violated as seen from the actions of the EU and the tendering of the same report by Mr. Peter Obi as evidence in support of his case, calls for concern, as it has the unsalutary effects of undermining democracy and tinkering with the rule of law.”
SOURCE: Sahara Reporters.
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