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The Action Congress (AC) has described as a huge joke any attempt to disqualify its presidential candidate, Vice President Atiku Abubakar, even as it denied receiving any letter from INEC on the purported non-clearance of Atiku, for the April elections.
The Action Congress (AC) has described as a huge joke any attempt to disqualify its presidential candidate, Vice President Atiku Abubakar, even as it denied receiving any letter from INEC on the purported non-clearance of Atiku, for the April elections.
“We did not receive any letter from INEC, and in fact, we have written to INEC to send such letter, even though it will not be worth the paper on which it is written,” AC said in a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
It said such a letter from INEC would also be a ground for an action against the commission for contempt of court, since an Abuja court is yet to vacate its earlier order restraining INEC from screening or verifying any candidate standing for the forthcoming polls.
“We see the continuous threat of a letter from INEC as another ploy by the PDP to confuse our supporters and weaken the resolve of our presidential candidate,” the party said, adding that the ruling party had already failed in both instances.
“We also note that INEC has publicly admitted that it does not have the power to disqualify any candidate. It follows therefore that if INEC lacks such power, it also cannot clear candidates,” it said.
AC reiterated its earlier stand that only the court can disqualify candidates from contesting elections, in accordance with the constitution and the Electoral Act which did not vest such power on INEC or EFCC.
It warned both INEC and the EFCC not to allow themselves to be used by a desperate president and its jittery political party to derail plans for the forthcoming elections, and by extension truncating the much-awaited, landmark transition from one civilian government to another.
In a related development, AC has justified its earlier call on its candidates to shun the panel set up by the Federal Government to try those purportedly investigated and indicted for corruption by the EFCC, saying the establishment of the panel shows the Federal Governments total ignorance of basic tenets of federalism and constitutional democracy.
“Against all rules of fair hearing, the FG chose its own employees to preside over a panel to look into allegations many of which were made by the FG itself,” AC said
The party said the so-called investigated/indicted persons were now being asked to come and prove their innocence before the same federal government that is their accuser, without any prior notice of the particulars of their offences.
“It is trite law, anyway, that in a federal system, FG cannot ask its Permanent Secretary of any of its officers to probe the Vice President, state governors and local government officials” AC said.
The party said the law setting up the EFCC empowers it to prosecute in the court of law, where it has evidence to do so, and not to report the outcome of its investigations to the federal government for further action.
“The mere fact that the EFCC rushed the report to the FG and the speed with which the latter set up a Kangaroo panel on it have confirmed our fears that the action of the commission was instigated by the government to confuse and weaken the opposition ahead of the forthcoming polls, the party added.
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Comments (1)
Actually translates to bravehearted.