Arise Television anchor Rufai Oseni has alleged that there may be attempts to prevent key opposition figures, including Mr Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar, from appearing on the ballot for the 2027 general elections.
Oseni’s remark followed a Federal High Court judgment
ordering the deregistration of several political parties.
Recall that Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in
Abuja ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to
deregister the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Accord Party, AP, Action
People’s Party, APP, Zenith Labour Party, ZLP, and Action Alliance Party, AAP,
over alleged constitutional breaches.
The judgment followed a suit filed by the Incorporated
Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators, NFFL, which argued that
the affected parties failed to meet constitutional and statutory electoral
performance requirements necessary for continued recognition as political
parties.
Justice Lifu subsequently barred INEC from recognising the
affected parties, accepting nominations from them or permitting them to
participate in activities related to the 2027 general elections.
The ruling, if upheld, could affect the political ambitions
of several politicians, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who is
associated with the ADC, and Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, who is
seeking re-election on the platform of the Accord Party.
But speaking on Arise TV’s Morning Show on Tuesday, Oseni
described the court ruling as a “test” of public reaction, warning that more
actions could follow ahead of the next general election.
According to him, opposition parties such as the African
Democratic Congress, ADC, and the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, should be
cautious, claiming that efforts could be made to stop major figures from
participating in the election.
Oseni argued that the judgment was part of a broader process
aimed at shaping the political landscape ahead of 2027.
He maintained that the ruling came despite some of the
affected parties having recorded electoral victories in recent elections.
He warned that Nigerians must remain vigilant to safeguard
the country’s democracy, stressing the need for judicial reforms alongside
efforts to tackle insecurity.
Oseni said: “NDC, ADC should be careful because there will
be attempt, and this is me predicting now, to ensure that Obi, Atiku and other
big contenders are not on the ballot.
“This that you saw yesterday is just a test. This is not the
real place where the whole thing is going. This is me predicting now.
“You know before you have a show you test the microphone.
They want to see the reactions of Nigerians. More is still coming.
“You can see how they carry a judgement when ADC won two
House of Representatives seats in Kogi, one Kogi House of Assembly seat, APP
one chairmanship seat in Jigawa, Zenith Labour party won several seats in Abia,
but they still went ahead and issued judgement for deregistration after the
Court of Appeal, a higher court, said it should stay on that.
“If we want to deal with this judicial rascality, can I tell
you something? The judge that gave this judgment, nothing will happen to him.
Nothing on this earth. They are just coming.
“And who is leading this group? Gbajabiamila. Have you
forgotten what Gbajabiamila said on Hon Ajibade’s birthday? So they are just
coming. This one is just a test. The next one they will do is the NDC.
“With the way they’re going, if Nigerians don’t shine their
eyes when they will finally have this election, you will not have the major
contenders in the ballot. This thing they have just done is to test reactions
from Nigerians.
“I saw this thing coming. You know we are going into an
election in which Atiku Abubakar is the only major candidate from the North.
It’s not like the last one you have Kwankwaso that can split the Kano votes.
And you have Peter Obi and general consensus that a lot of people are in abject
penury, insecurity is raging hard.
“This is the beginning of many things. They are just testing
the microphone. It’s engineered. More is coming. Nigerians, it is you that will
save your democracy. Judicial reforms have become so important as insecurity in
Nigeria.”
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