President Bola Tinubu has attacked former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar for accusing him of trying to undermine the judiciary to deliver judgment in his favor in the ongoing move to scuttle his election.
Dele Alake, presidential spokesman, in a statement on Saturday, said the president had read the laughable and jejune statement by Atiku.
“It is obvious that having been thoroughly defeated by the All Progressives Congress and now President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the former Vice President has not fully recovered from the shock of defeat, hence the current attempt to mischievously rake up another round of inanities that offend basic logic and rational thinking.
“In the ill-thought-out and illogical statement, Alhaji Atiku accused the current administration of the governing APC of plotting to undermine the judiciary without providing any shred of evidence. Apart from innuendos, insinuations, and outright lies contained in the said press statement, the former Vice President Atiku didn’t put forward any convincing argument to support his claims on how the President Tinubu-led administration and APC sought to undercut, undermine and compromise the judiciary,” he said.
According to Alake, if the former Vice President believed in democracy and the sanctity of the judiciary, as claimed, he would not engage in making spurious and wild allegations aimed at disparaging and discrediting an important arm of government that should serve as the bulwark for democracy.
He said Atiku shamelessly resorted to this cheap attempt to intimidate and blackmail the Judiciary even when he is party to a case before the Presidential Election Petition Court.
“Let it be said that when it comes to matters of fighting for democracy and democratic ideals, rule of law, and independence of Judiciary in Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu stands shoulder above Atiku Abubakar. When President Tinubu was leading the charge against the emasculation of the judiciary and promoting the sanctity of the rule of law as the building block for good governance as Governor of Lagos State between 1999-2007, under a PDP central government, Alhaji Atiku was nowhere to be found.
“It is on record and to his eternal credit that President Tinubu, through the instrumentality of the law and Judiciary, successfully challenged many of the draconian and obnoxious decisions of the PDP-led Federal Government that trampled on the rights of the States as federating units. Lagos State under the leadership of the then Governor Tinubu won over 13 cases up to the Supreme Court against the hydra-headed PDP administration at the centre.
“No leader with such a sterling and enviable credential as a champion of rule of law, independence of judiciary like President Tinubu will ever contemplate undermining the Judiciary as alleged by Alhaji Atiku.
“President Tinubu won a free, fair, and credible election. The February 25, 2023, Presidential election that produced him is the most transparent election ever conducted in Nigeria since 1999,” he added.
Alake stated that Tinubu and the APC had no reason to undermine the judiciary in the hope of any favorable judgment.
“His lawyers and that of APC have presented a very solid defense of the result of the election and we are sure the judiciary will impartially deliver its ruling based on points of law and evidence before it, not based on presumptuous speculations and unfounded accusations.
“Atiku Abubakar should be honorable enough as a statesman to allow the Judiciary to perform its sacred duty without harassment and this resort to self-help. Attempting to discredit an important institution of State for selfish political ends is disingenuous, shameful, and unbecoming of a former Vice President of Nigeria. This desperation must stop,” he stated.
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