2023 PEPT Decision: Atiku’s avarice contributed to the PDP’s loss – Okechukwu

As a Buharist who has felt the agony of losing post-election lawsuits, Mr. Osita Okechukwu, one of the founding members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), has said that he fully understands the sorrow of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), and Allied Peoples Movement (APM) members over the outcome of the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC)’s judgement.

In her response to the ruling, Okechukwu told journalists in Abuja that while the main opposition PDP had a good chance of winning the 2023 presidential election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s political ambition prevented the party from doing so.

All Progressives Congress, APC President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has so far benefited from the Tribunal’s ruling.

While expressing his sympathies for the PDP, LP, and APM, Okechukwu stated that His Excellency, Alhaji Atiku Abubukar, whose hubris and greed combined to deny them victory, should be held accountable rather than the PEPC by the petitioners, particularly those who support the PDP and the LP.

Additionally, he said that Atiku split the opposition party by not seizing the chance to act as a statesman by endorsing his former running mate Peter Obi or any other candidate from the South for president, adding, “Atiku dealt PDP a huge blow from which it might be difficult to recover.”

He rejected the petitioners’ assertions that the respondents’ case was irreparably damaged by claimed flaws in the election’s administration, Tinubu’s eligibility, and the failure to electronically transmit results in real time.

If Atiku had adhered to the zoning convention and endorsed Peter Obi or any other Southern presidential candidate, the complicated webs might have been addressed, making the election purely Southern. It was impossible for the Wike disguise to appear. That would have meant that the PDP might have gotten credit for the majority of the votes he received.

The former vice president, who naively forgot that northern voters are among the most sophisticated in the country, believed that northern electorate would behave like children in a dormitory waiting for instructions on how to vote, naively forgot that all the votes Labour Party garnered were from the party’s stronghold, he claimed.

The zoning convention, which ensures equity and natural justice between the north and south, was saved by President Tinubu, according to Okechukwu, who is also the Director General of Voice of Nigeria (DG, VON).

First and foremost, he said, “Let me commend President Tinubu for saving the zoning convention, a ligament uniting the north and south, from an unprecedented attack.

Since His Excellency, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar violated the presidential zoning convention that ruled the 4th Republic of Nigeria and was also incorporated into his party’s Constitution, in my opinion the opposition lost the election on that day in 2022.

Remember how Atiku garnered praise for storming out of the PDP Convention in 2014 over President Goodluck Jonathan’s violation of the zoning convention? And to honour the zoning convention, Governor Nyesom Wike convened the PDP Convention in Port Harcourt in 2018 and made sure that only northern candidates ran for the presidential ticket.

“So, it is apparent that Atiku either intentionally or unintentionally gravely injured the fabric of the PDP when he sacrificed statesmanship on the altar of petty political ambition. According to the cliche that “a divided house cannot stand,” Nigerians should understand that Atiku’s selfishness prevented the PDP from winning.

The APC leader offered a revised electoral act as a solution, mandating solely electronic accreditation and results transmission, which would clear up all obvious issues.

“I agree that electronic communication of results should be required and that manual collation of results should be completely eliminated.

“We also need to refer back to the well-known Justice Uwais Handbook on Electoral Reform, which among other excellent democratic principles indicated how to most effectively recruit the Chairman of the INEC, Commissioners, and various employees in a transparent manner.

“With these fights, Election Petitions will undoubtedly be finished before winners are sworn in.

The submission from Okechukwu read, “Let us not forget that our democracy has witnessed remarkable advancement and bear in mind that democracy is not a revolution, but a work in progress.