Udora Orizu in Abuja
Opposition parties under the aegis of Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) have expressed concern over the rate of court orders stopping the collation of results and conclusion of elections in Bauchi, Adamawa and Rivers States, and accused President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) of trying to plunge the affected states into constitutional crisis.
Justice Inyang Ekwo, on Tuesday restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from taking further action in matters relating to the governorship election conducted in Bauchi on March 9, 2019.
In its reaction, CUPP said the court orders halting the collation of election in Bauchi, Adamawa and Rivers States amounted to an act of judicial treason capable of consuming the Nigerian democracy and aborting constitutional governance.
The opposition parties accused President Buhari and his APC-led administration of allegedly planning to plunge these states where they are losing into constitutional crises by arm-twisting judges to commit judicial treason.
In a statement issued by CUPP spokesperson, Ikenga Ugochinyere in Abuja, the coalition said in all instances, leaders of APC were the ones behind these acts.
It said: “We have witnessed this unfortunate development in states such as Bauchi, Adamawa and Rivers States with ongoing move to purchase an order to halt the collation in Kano if the APC loses the supplementary election on Saturday.
“This trend clearly poses grave danger to the nation’s democracy especially as Section 87 (10) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as ammended) forbids any court process that will stop party primaries or general election or the process thereof.”
According to CUPP, only the election petition tribunals are legally empowered to attend to any grievances arising from election outcome or ongoing election process.
The coalition also alleged that Buhari and APC chieftains had perfected plans to ensure that Rivers, Bauchi, Adamawa and Kano States do not have constitutional leadership and inauguration on May 29, 2019 to pave the way for Buhari and the APC to appoint party loyalists as sole administrators in those states who will lead their party to fresh governorship elections which they intend to win with fake results.
CUPP called on the INEC to ignore such court orders and complete the elections as demanded by the law.
The coalition also demanded that President Buhari should call his party men to order and direct them to stop the ongoing bastardisation of judiciary and security institutions or leave to watch the seeds they are sowing consume us all.
“It is shameful that when opposition are winning in states, Buhari will be encouraging his party men to intimidate the courts and procure strange injunction to destroy constitutional governance,” CUPP said.
