Olisa Agbakoba, SAN has called for the swift resolution of all petitions with the Electoral Tribunal before the inauguration of a new president in Nigeria. In an interview with ARISE News, Agbakoba emphasized that resolving the pending petitions before May 29 would prevent further political arguments.
Agbakoba stated that most of the ongoing political debates in Nigeria would be resolved when the petitions before the tribunal are heard and sorted out accordingly. He urged the Electoral Tribunal to complete the process as soon as possible, saying, “In order to balance out justice, could we please get these petitions, if they can be resolved before that date?”
The former NBA president explained that resolving the petitions before the Inauguration day would take away the questions of the legitimacy of the president who will be sworn in. He further stated that the policy that gave electoral candidates 180 days to file a petition was too long. According to him, electoral tribunal petitions can be heard in seven days.
Agbakoba believes that as long as the good judgment is given, justice will not be subverted. When asked about the validity of his opinion, he said:
“Why don’t we try, even if we fail, suppose my theory of 7 days doesn’t work, let’s try to see if we can get it going, and if we can get it going, that is a plus for everybody.”
Regarding the alleged interim government plot, he said that there is no room for an interim government in the constitution. He stated that all these issues would die down when the petitions are resolved.
When asked who he believes would be an ideal president for Nigeria, he said that he was apolitical. He urged whoever finally gets confirmed as Nigerian president to do right by Nigerians.
“Nigerians are not interested in who is there particularly, they are interested in how development can come,” he said.
