The founder of ANAP Foundation, Atedo Peterside, has berated the Nigerian judiciary for failing to live up to the required standard and expressed support for an electoral reform that would shift the burden of proof to Independent National Electoral the states in the North, adequately represented,” he added. He described Turaki as a true party man who knows the internal workings of the PDP.
“He has always been in the party for a long time, and he has always provided his contributions where needed, legal, financial, and otherwise,” he said. Sani expressed the confidence that if he becomes the National Chairman, the former minister “will put the party on a sound footing because he is neutral. “This is what the governor is talking about. He is neither with Wike nor the Governors’ Forum.
“He is an independent minded person, and we hope that he will bring his wealth of experience, which he has gathered over the years, both as a legal practitioner, as a former Minister of Special Duties.” Commission (INEC). He also criticised the Commission (INEC) under the leadership of its immediate past chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, describing it as a national disgrace.
Peterside made the remarks during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today yesterday, while responding to a question about the recent change of leadership at the electoral body, which saw Professor Joash Amupitan replace Professor Yakubu. Asked about his hopes on the change of leadership in INEC, Peterside said:
“I will never say never, but the INEC that was led by Mahmood Yakubu was a national disgrace. “You just have to go on their IReV. If you have time, I will take you there myself and show you the result sheets they upload — mutilated, sometimes with figures changed, and in some cases, they even forget to change the words.”
He also berated the Nigerian judiciary for failing to live up to the required standard and expressed support for an electoral reform that would shift the burden of proof to INEC. “I heard former Governor Dickson saying in the Senate that we have to amend the Electoral Act in some important way,” Peterside said.
“See, this is where our judiciary has not lived up to the required standards. I agree with Senator Dickson that the burden of proof should shift to INEC. “You can’t allow a situation where INEC can do anything, bring out rubbish results, mutilated and everything, and then argue that it’s for the victim to prove that what they’ve done is wrong, when even a blind man can see that what they’ve done is wrong.”
Peterside lamented that a majority of Nigerians have lost confidence in both the electoral body and the judiciary, warning that people might resort to self-help in future elections if nothing is done to restore trust in the system. On October 23, President Bola Tinubu swore in Amupitan as the Chairman of INEC. Amupitan’s swearing in by the President came a week after the Senate confirmed his appointment following a screening session on October 16.
