Tinubu's attempt to blackmail tribunal will fail, says Labour Party in reaction to anarchy comment

The Labour Party (LP) has told President Bola Tinubu that no amount of threat can change the process of the law.

Obiora Ifoh, the party’s national publicity secretary, claimed in a statement on Monday that Tinubu’s ‘anarchy’ remarks were superfluous given that the case is still pending in court.

The LP stated that the All Progressives Congress (APC) must exercise caution in how it handles the case, which is still pending in court, and noted that no amount of pressure on the tribunal’s judges can alter the procedures and requirements that have been established by the law.

“We are worried that the statement which formed part of his submissions and was contained in his final written address against the Labour Party’s petition pending at the PREPEC, and meant to be in the exclusive custody of the court was leaked to the media. We still do not know the reason behind this act of desperation, even when the matter is still pending in court. We will however be careful not to term the action as sub-judice,” The Labour Party statement read.

“Having said that, the Labour Party thinks that the statement was unnecessary since the matter is already before the court, and going ahead to pontificate on it could be construed as interference in the duties and responsibilities of the judiciary.The truth of the matter is that there are no sentiments when it comes to matters of law. The law is the law and once the law has stipulated the manner and how a matter must be carried out, it must follow that pattern.If the law has stated the requirement that a presidential candidate must meet before he can be declared, there is no shortcut to it,” it added.

In his final written response to the tribunal in response to the petition from the Labour Party, Tinubu asserted that the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is the 37th state for electoral purposes and that any other interpretation would “lead to absurdity, chaos, anarchy, and alteration of the very intention of the legislature.”

His argument has however continued to draw criticism from many Nigerians who termed the comment to be treasonable.