Electoral Irregularities?
Obasanjo testifies at Court of Appeal
Jul 8, 2003, 16:49
| | Obasanjo testifies at Court of Appeal
President Olusegun Obasanjo on 7 July appeared at the Court of Appeal in Abuja as witness in a petition filed by Chief Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, Presidential candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA). Chief Ojukwu is challenging President Obasanjo’s re-election.
Under cross-examination, President Obasanjo told the Court that the first regime he headed after General Murtala Mohammed's demise in 1976 came in through a military coup and not an election. His testimony was in reaction to Chief Ojukwu’s claim that having ruled twice from 1976 through 1979 and from 1999 through 2003, he was not qualified to have contested in the just concluded election.
The cross-examination of President Obasanjo took close to two hours, during which he stated that by military hierarchy he was the next in line to the late military leader, Murtala Mohammed, and denied that members of the Supreme Military Council ever elected him.
Concerning the recently concluded 19 April election, the President told the court that he was duly elected with almost 62 percent of the total votes cast. He denied allegations of irregularities, stating that the election was free and fair.
Chief Ojukwu in his petition is seeking:
· A declaration that as at 19 April when the Presidential election was held, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, the first respondent, was not qualified to contest the election
· An order invalidating the return of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo as the winner of the 19 April Presidential election
· An order commanding the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) (second respondent) to conduct another Presidential election
· An order directing the Chief Justice of Nigeria to take over as the Head of State for three months, within which period he would re-organise the INEC and conduct free and fair polls
· A declaration that the purported return of President Obasanjo as the winner of the 19 April polls is unconstitutional, null and void
Related Article:
Buhari files election petition
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