Presidential Appeal

Nigerians see bright light in Court ruling

The slim victory recorded by President Umaru Musa Yar Adua and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party at last Friday’s ruling by the nation’s apex court upholding the result of the April 2007 Presidential polls contains within it subtle pressure on the administration to carry on with its promise of electoral reforms, political commentators and judicial watchers have observed.
In arriving at their verdict that President Yar Adua and his Vice, Goodluck Jonathan, remain in office, four of the seven judges of Supreme Court had averred that, all things considered, the duo of Muhammadu Buhari and Atiku Abubakar, candidates for the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and the Action Congress (AC) had failed to convince them on why the entire results from the disputed polls should be cancelled and a fresh poll ordered.  
Responding to the verdict however, many commentators hold that even underlying the fact that President Yar Adua has finally been confirmed in office are the imperatives of initiating and sustaining electoral reforms as well as providing the much needed dividends of democracy to the people.
Said Raymos Guanah, Commissioner for Lands and Survey in Delta State, “I am most impressed by the judgement. It is a welcome development. And with it now, the onus is on Mr. President to perform and deliver the dividends of democracy since there are no more distractions from the courts.
However, the fact that it has taken so long to resolve this issue calls for some adjustment. Our electoral petitions take too long. Now is the time to put in place a time bar within which all petitions must be disposed of. And if you ask me, all of these should be concluded even before the swearing-in of the winners so they can concentrate on the business of governance.
For Comrade Sam Dietake, Delta State Chairman of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) and the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, the judgement is sound and based on the plethora of evidence canvassed by counsel in court.
Commenting particularly on the 4-3 split decision of the justices, he pointed out that the results communicated that it was no longer business as usual and that the judiciary could be relied upon to do its bit in the overall development of the country, without fear or favour.
On his part, the just retired General Secretary of the Nigerian Civil Service Union (NCSU), Comrade Nath Nwauzor lauded the judgement as balanced and urged politicians to learn from it as their deeds would be exposed in time. He equally urged all Nigerians to now rally round the administration and work for peace and good governance in the land.Yar’Adua, 57, came to power in May 2007 after elections in April that international and Nigerian poll monitors said were not credible because of widespread vote-rigging, underage voting and violence. He succeeded Olusegun Obasanjo, who ruled for eight years, in the first civilian transfer of power since Nigeria gained independence from the U.K. in 1960.
Muhammadu Buhari, the main opposition challenger, and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, had asked the court to annul Yar’Adua’s victory. An electoral tribunal in February dismissed their petition, declaring that Yar’Adua was duly elected.