Bature AbdulAziz, the National President of the Patriotic Elders Forum of Nigeria, has expressed his belief that Bola Tinubu, the President-elect, is permitted by law to take the oath of office while election cases are still pending in court.
Speaking to journalists in Kano on Saturday, AbdulAziz stated that both Tinubu and any governor-elect are allowed to proceed with their inauguration ceremony despite the ongoing legal cases.
Furthermore, the elder statesman criticized recent calls for the suspension of Tinubu’s swearing-in, warning that such actions could destabilize the country.
He said, “Why are you calling for the suspension of swearing-in? What you are asking for, has it any position in the law or in the Nigeria history? So, why are some people killing themselves in the name of trying to stop the swearing-in, this is baseless, they are speaking out of ignorance.”
The outcome of Nigeria’s February 25 presidential election is facing legal challenges from multiple fronts. Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, and Peter Obi, his Labour Party counterpart, have approached the court to challenge the election results.
Meanwhile, a separate lawsuit was filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja by five residents of the Federal Capital Territory demanding an order to discontinue the swearing-in of Tinubu.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/578/2023, requests that the court prevent the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, any other judicial officer, or any other authority or person from swearing in any candidate as President or Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria until it is judicially determined that such candidate has fulfilled the requirement of Section 134(2) (b) of the Constitution. The plaintiffs identified themselves as registered voters of the FCT
