The Nigerian President-elect, Bola Tinubu, is set to take office on May 29, 2023, despite court challenges to the election result, according to the country’s Information Minister, Lai Mohammed. During a visit to the UK to counter claims that the February 25, 2023, election in Africa’s most populous country had been fixed, Mohammed stated that there was “no basis” for an interim government to be formed until the court challenges could be resolved.
Mohammed, who is also a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress party (APC) like Tinubu, claimed that supporters of the defeated Labour presidential candidate Peter Obi were undermining democracy through their calls for the election to be rerun.
Tinubu was declared the winner of the election on an overall turn-out of 29%, the lowest in Nigeria’s democratic history. The result is being challenged in court by Obi – who came third – and by the second-placed opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) led by Atiku Abubakar.
But the APC is asking the courts to strike down the Obi challenge on a series of technicalities. The acclaimed Nigerian novelist, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, wrote an open letter to Joe Biden urging him to rethink his decision to endorse the results.
Adichie claimed the poll had been imperilled by “deliberate manipulation,” and the “electoral commission ignored so many glaring red flags in its rush to announce a winner.”
The Obi petition to the election tribunal has to be settled within 180 days of being filed in March, and after that, there can be further appeals to higher courts. Mohammed said the opposition “have a right to challenge the results in court, but they do not have a right to call for insurrection.
They do not have a right to say because they have lost, and the other candidate is sworn in, that will be the end of democracy. You do not go to court and at the same time try to intimidate the judiciary. They are unpatriotic because they are calling for insurrection.”
Referring to Obi’s running mate, Yusuf Baba-Ahmed, he said: “If the running mate of a presidential candidate says if you swear in a validly elected candidate as president, that would be the end of democracy, that is treason pure and simple.
As a lawyer, I know it is a treasonable felony to call for the end of democracy.” He said Obi had never disowned these remarks, even though they threatened the stability of the country. “Democracy surviving in Nigeria is very important for democracy in Africa,” he added.
The Nigerian government has been facing a wave of criticism following the low turnout and controversy surrounding the recent presidential election. The new president, who will be tasked with implementing difficult economic reforms, including potentially reducing petrol subsidies, is at risk of losing legitimacy due to the controversy surrounding his election. Despite this, the country’s information minister has denied that the low turnout and controversy will weaken the new president’s legitimacy.
However, the information minister’s recent visit to London suggests that the incoming government is aware that it needs to defend its reputation and push back against the perception in some capitals that it will not have the legitimacy to push through a reform program.
With the economic challenges that Nigeria faces, the incoming government must take immediate steps to establish its legitimacy and rebuild confidence in its ability to steer the country towards economic stability.
The controversy surrounding the election results has been fueled by allegations of electoral malpractice by the opposition party. Legal challenges to election results are not uncommon in Nigeria, but the insurgent campaign of the opposition candidate, which resonated with young Nigerian voters, alleges that the election commission failed to upload the results in real-time as promised. They say this delay in publishing the results may have allowed the ruling party to collude with electoral commission officials to manipulate results.
Despite these challenges, Nigeria has the potential to become a leading economic powerhouse in Africa. With a population of over 200 million people, a strategic location on the African continent, and abundant natural resources, the country has all the ingredients for economic success. However, for Nigeria to realize its potential, the incoming government must address the concerns surrounding the legitimacy of its election.
Image Credit: Bola Tinubu/Twitter
