By Kelechi Esogwa-Amadi
The ripples generated by the Supreme Court’s judgment on the petitions filed by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the last general election, Atiku Abubakar, and his Labour Party counterpart, Peter Obi, against President Bola Tinubu, are still bubbling.
While Nigerians, including residents of Port Harcourt, have continued to comment on the judgment, with many expressing disappointment with the judiciary for dismissing Atiku and Obi’s petitions, there are fears that an atmosphere of uncertainty has also been sparked by the development.
For instance, there are rumors that Thursday’s Supreme Court judgment did not go down well with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) which is believed to be a major stakeholder of the Labour Party.
According to inside sources, the NLC, alongside its sister union, the TUC, might hide under garb of agitation for the improved welfare of its members to express its rumored disappointment with the Supreme Court judgment.
The union has been threatening an indefinite industrial action if their demands are not met at the expiration of their deadline.
“The situation is very dicey. It is clear that many people are disappointed with the judgment by the Supreme Court just as they were with that of the tribunal, though they can’t change it.
“From what am seeing even here in Abuja, the mood is gloomy among the PDP and Labour Party and their supporters. Some youths are saying that they have lost faith in the judiciary and the entire political system.
“I don’t know what all this will translate to in the near future but it’s clear that all is not well.
I only pray that everybody will accept this situation in good faith and allow peace to reign while looking unto God,” one of our sources said.
Also hinting at this uncertainty – though mildly – is the leadership of the Labour Party while commenting on the judgment of the Supreme Court.
Expressing dismay moments after the judgment, the chairman of the LP, Julius Abure, lamented: “We are indeed very shocked and surprised that even the apex court will toe the line of an earlier judgment in spite of all the flaws associated with the judgment delivered by the presidential election appeal tribunal.
“Having conclusively exercised our fundamental right as gifted to us by the laws of the land, we have no other choice but to move on. We may be disappointed and dismayed by the outcome of the exercise but we have chosen to trudge on and remain optimistic of what the future holds for the nation.
“However, there are great lessons to be learned. What transpired in Nigeria since the February 25 presidential election is a clear testament that our institutions are not working and that we may be sliding towards dictatorship.
“It is very clear that the executive has hijacked both the judiciary and the legislature.
“This is so unfortunate for our democracy, and it is even more for the people of Nigeria. All that our fathers taught us has been destroyed within a short space of time because of the unbridled ambition of a few.
“The founding fathers fought with their lives to achieve independence for the country. People lost their lives in the struggle to keep our democracy…
“Regrettably, all of these efforts and struggles have been destroyed today.”
Meanwhile, TPCN observes that reactions of a cross-section of the masses on the current situation show that the majority of them have become
apprehensive and disenchanted, with many appearing to lose hope of a bright future.
Speaking to TPCN on Friday in Port Harcourt, a resident, Akeh Stephen, said: “Am not interested in the matter again. The court can do whatever they like; am not expecting anything good from them because they’re all the same. Let the politicians do whatever they like with Nigeria. All of us will suffer it. Thank God all of us go to the same market to buy. All of us are paying the same price for fuel. Let them keep borrowing more money from foreign countries. Everything goes in Nigeria.”
