Baba-Ahmed: Tinubu’s Mandate Assaults Nigeria’s Constitution

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The vice presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) , Datti Baba-Ahmed, yesterday maintained that the mandate of the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, remains in breach of the Nigerian constitution.

Speaking on Arise Television last night, Baba-Ahmed referred to the certificate of return handed to Tinubu as a dud cheque, which he insisted will eventually bounce, no matter how long it takes.

“We’re not just talking about losing the election. We’re now talking about the constitutional breach and where you have a constitutional breach, there is no president-elect.

“There is the clear interpretation of section 134 of the constitution. And there is the INEC’s  interpretation of 134. Now, I’m going to hold on to that. I will stick to that and I will deliver victory on that.

“By that idea, I tell you with all humility, we do not have a president-elect in Nigeria today. What Alhaji Bola Tinubu is holding is a dud certificate , a dud cheque. There are no funds in that account, it will bounce.

“You cannot swear in a president whose certificate of return assaults the constitution because the constitution is the platform on which the presidency rests and when that has been violated, it cannot stand,” Baba-Ahmed insisted.

He urged President Muhammadu Buhari and the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) not to back an ‘illegality’ , insisting that it remains unconstitutional, especially given that he did not get 25 per cent of the votes in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The running mate to Peter Obi of the LP contended that the law states that every candidate must garner 25 per cent votes , which he said Tinubu failed to get.

Baba-Ahmed declared that by the standard definition of section 134, there will be  a breach of the Nigerian constitution if Tinubu is sworn in on May 29. “If you violate the constitution, use power or whatever to bring him in, he remains an unconstitutional president,” he added.

Baba-Ahmed stated that although he does not have full faith in the Nigerian judiciary,  it is not enough reason not to approach the courts to overturn the election of Tinubu.

He gave the weird case of the Senate President, who contested for both the senate and the presidency simultaneously  against the Nigerian constitution, but was given the go-ahead by the Nigerian judiciary to be the candidate of his party despite the alleged breach.