Posted by By LUCKY NWANKWERE, Abuja on
The Federal Government says any attempt by politicians threatening to go ahead and contest the forthcoming elections with or without the inclusion of their names on the ballot papers will be visited with the full weight of the law.
The Federal Government says any attempt by politicians threatening to go ahead and contest the forthcoming elections with or without the inclusion of their names on the ballot papers will be visited with the full weight of the law.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Bayo Ojo stated this in Abuja when he addressed State House correspondents Monday after the Council of State meeting.
Saying the laws of the land were made for people to obey, he vowed that the full weight of the law would be visited on anyone who chose to sidetrack or breach the law during the forthcoming general elections.
Vice President Atiku Abubakar and some other politicians have repeatedly said they would proceed with the election even with clear indication that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) would not have them fielded for the election.
The chairman of INEC, Prof. Maurice Iwu had said the commission would not include Atiku's name and some others on the ballot papers, pointing out that as far as he was concerned, he (Atiku) and some others remained disqualified.
Ojo said although the Council of State meeting chaired by President Olusegun Obasanjo and attended by two former heads of government, the senate president, Chief Ken Nnamani and some state governors as well as the immediate past Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Alfa Belgore did not specifically discuss the issue, it, however, deliberated on the general security situation in the country, including during the elections.
"I want to assure you that the full weight of the law would be brought against anybody who breaches the law. The law is there for people to obey and anybody who decides to sidetrack the law, the full weight of the law would be brought down because it is the duty of the Federal Government to maintain law and order all over the country. Anybody who decides to take the law into his hands would have himself to blame," he stated.
The Nasarawa State governor, Alhaji Adamu Abdullahi, who was present at the briefing
expressed worry at the utterances of some politicians, saying whatever we say or do should be within the confines of the laws of the land.
He said it was incumbent on all Nigerians, as stakeholders, to realise that the issue of law and order was not the sole preserve of government, pointing out that people should not under any circumstance stand by and watch if there was any attempt to disrupt the elections.
"It is disturbing some of the pronouncements we see, read or hear in the media especially as regards the electioneering. In some areas of the country, this gives cause for concern. There is general security appraisal of what is going on and this has been brought to the fore for emphasis so that we do not just sit by and watch people do what they do, say what they want to say and create obstacles on the way of the elections that are forthcoming and if, God forbid, there is anything they begin to point accusing fingers in some directions," he stated.
Ojo also said President Obasanjo briefed the council on INEC's preparation for elections as well as the fact that with 50 political parties, there would be 50 agents at each polling station across the country with its attendant security implications.
The president, he also said, briefed the council on the fact that there is no time limit for concluding election petitions, pointing out that the president of the Court of Appeal who is in charge of setting up tribunals could issue a directive to candidates on when to file petitions and when to conclude the petitions.
"The mandate of the council is that as the attorney general, I will meet with the Chief Justice of Nigeria, the president of the Court of Appeal and the chairman of INEC to work out ways and means in which these problems can be looked into.
"For instance, INEC said it would come up with the list on 12th March. And between the 12th and 12th of April, 100 million ballot papers would be printed. That time frame is a bit short and the logistics of doing that and distributing to different parts of the country under tight security gives room for concern," he further stated.
The minister also said the council approved a new electoral commissioner for South West zone to replace the former one that died; new members for National Population Commission as well as two members of the NBA on the board of the National Judicial Council.