We'll retrieve our mandate in court — Obi-Datti

THE Vice Presidential candidate of Labour Party, Dr. Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, has assured Nigerians, especially party supporters, that he and his principal, Mr. Peter Obi, were prepared to pursue and retrieve their mandate through the legal system.

He appealed to Nigerians to continue to exercise their franchise because democracy belongs to those who could practice it.

Baba-Ahmed, who stated this at a briefing at LP Presidential Campaign Secretariat in his first comment after the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, declared Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu as president-elect, in Abuja yesterday, said: “We ask Nigerians to continue to exercise their civic duties. ''Democracy belongs to the people who can practice it. Nigeria should continue to make efforts to practice it.  The only language we understand is peace. Obi and I believe even more in Nigeria and Nigerian people.

“We won election in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, they refused to upload the result, they refused to refer to IREV just for them to defeat us.

“It took a serving government illegality and constitutional breach to defeat Peter Obi and my humble self.

“Nigerian people are winners and Nigerian people are waiting for a day when Peter Obi and myself, through the rigours of legality and constitutionality will get to power somehow, one day.”

While appealing to Nigerians and party supporters to remain calm, he assured them that their labour to build a better Nigeria where the rule of law shall reign supreme would not be in vein.

Responding to a question as to whether the party planned  a legal challenge to the the outcome of the elections, he said, “Irrespective of the low level of confidence we have in the system, your responsibility is your responsibility.

“Nigerians contested for the 2023 Presidential election through Peter Obi and my humble self, we shall continue to keep the struggle alive,  irrespective of the low confidence level we have in the judiciary.

“We had extremely low confidence on the promise of the government concerning the election yet we went ahead with the election. So, it doesn’t matter how low the confidence level we have in the judiciary but the law is the law.

“But there is a confidence we have in ourselves. The confidence we have in ourselves is that the election so to say, did not hold because from the polling unit, the Electoral Act 2007 as amended provided the direct transmission of result."

“It is that direct transmission that shows that elections were held and they were not transmitted. So if there were not results, what election are you talking about.

“Going to the ward collation units, no INEC officer shall make entries without he or she making reference to the existing ongoing concurrent IREV which did not exist. So, how did they collate.

“If there is no valid collation, what result are you talking about, if there are no results what elections are you talking about.

“Illegality has been performed and as far as we are concerned, here is an incoming government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that is illegal and unconstitutional and we are submitting our case to the court of law and it is for them irrespective of the level of confidence of Nigerians or Africans have in them. It is for them to shore up that level of confidence.“

The VP candidate urged party members not to despair but step out and mobilize fellow citizens for the onerous task of electing new governors and members of the various Houses of Assembly.

Culled from Vanguard