The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has reacted to Monday’s media briefing by the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi, saying the Supreme Court doesn’t give judgment based on public opinion.
Obi had denounced the Supreme Court judgment upholding the victory of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. According to the LP presidential candidate the apex court overlooked allegations of forgery and impersonation against Tinubu, even as the justices ignored public opinion that the 2023 election was rigged in favour of Tinubu.
The APC in a swift response described Obi’s statements as haughty and reeking of a sense of entitlement.
National Publicity Secretary of the APC Felix Morka said in a statement issued in Abuja on Monday that cases are won based on evidence.
The statement read in part: “In his belated and grouchy reaction to the judgment of the Supreme Court dismissing his appeal against the electoral victory of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Peter Obi, candidate of the Labour Party, stated that “the Supreme Court exhibited a disturbing aversion to public opinion just as it abandoned its responsibility as a court of law and policy.”
“At his Press Conference earlier today, November 6, 2023, Obi, again blamed our democratic institutions, particularly the courts for not awarding him victory – not because he won the election, not because he proved his case in court as required by law but because he is Peter Obi”.
“That haughty sense of entitlement seems to pervade his vitriolic attack on our institutions. Mr Obi’s gross inability to distinguish between his warped version of public opinion and reality has been his greatest undoing throughout the electioneering season.
“Taken by the mass hysteria of his vociferous netizens and fringe supporters, Mr Obi ensconced himself in alternate reality, a parallel political universe of self delusion. As “someone who has previously benefited from the rulings of the Supreme Court on electoral matters”, Obi’s acerbic attack on the judiciary only belies his arrogance and vainness”.
Morka reminded Obi of his past victories in court saying, “When the same courts previously decided in his favor, the courts were beacons of democracy. Now that the decisions are against him, all of a sudden, the courts have betrayed democracy.
“Mr Obi, it cannot always be about you. It must always be about our country. Cases are not won on public opinion, they are won on evidence and the law. You failed on both counts”.
On Obi’s announcement that LP is now officially in opposition, Moka said: “We welcome Mr Obi’s decision to engage in opposition politics going forward.
“We urge Obi and his Labour Party to do so maturely and constructively, and contribute to the important task of building a safer, stronger and more prosperous country for us all”.
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