Stephen Osemwegie, a Labour Party chieftain and governorship aspirant in the Edo 2024 election, has kept hope alive regarding the chances of his party’s presidential candidate in this year’s general election, Peter Obi, getting a victory in court against President Bola Tinubu.
Obi and his party had dragged Tinubu and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal seeking the nullification of the President’s victory over claims of fraud and compromise during the February 25 poll.
However, luck failed to shine on the petitioners as the five-man panel led by Justice Haruna Tsammani struck out all the charges in the petition and affirmed Tinubu’s victory earlier declared by INEC.
Obi has since rejected the judgement and vowed to take the matter up at the Supreme Court, insisting that justice was not done.
Commenting on this in a statement on Wednesday, September 13, 2023, Osemwegie argued that the tribunal’s decision dashed the hope of many Nigerians.
The governorship hopeful said the verdict didn’t reflect the position of the Nigerian Constitution but believed “Obi will reclaim his mandate.”
“I’m dismayed by the PEPT’s judgment as it amounts to a total abdication of power to the executive arm of government in a manner indicative of state capture, and does not reflect the independence of the judiciary as envisaged by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is a slap on us as a nation that prides itself as the “Giant of Africa”.
“This aberration should be strongly condemned in its entirety. I believe it is an attempt to legitimize the imposed presidency of Bola Tinubu; dash the hope of the ordinary and long-suffering Nigerians for a new nation anchored on the principles of justice, equity and fairness; and grossly undermine the moral and ethical standards of the larger society,” he said.
On his plan for Edo, Osemwegie promised to turn the South-South state into an industrial hub of Nigeria if elected next year.
On how he intends to fund his proposed initiatives for the state, the governorship aspirant drew a parallel between Edo and New Jersey.
“Edo approximately covers an area of 19,000 sq km, same as New Jersey USA. Edo population is approximately 4.5 million, while New Jersey is approximately 9 million people (double the population of Edo State).
“The current annual budget of Edo is 360 billion naira (approximately 0.4 billion US dollars) while New Jersey’s annual budget is at a whopping 54 billion US dollars.”
He added that “There is no money to develop and industrialise Edo based on its paltry resources, therefore new funding must come from the diaspora in the form of investment bonds which will be sold to Edo indigenes in Diaspora.”
