Popular lawyer, Femi Falana, has attributed the
shift in the dates of the general elections to the
leaked tape alleging the rigging of the Ekiti State
gubernatorial election last year.
Speaking at the Black History Month and Dr.
Beko Ransom Kuti Memorial Program in Lagos,
Wednesday, Mr. Falana said some of those
implicated in the plot, who were threatening
legal action, should think otherwise.
An audio recording revealing how some Peoples’
Democratic Party, PDP, chieftains connived with
security agencies to rig the Ekiti State election
was released by an army officer last week.
At the meeting, as evidenced by the recording,
prominent officials of the PDP were heard
discussing strategies for rigging the 2014 Ekiti
governorship election, a poll in which the party
eventually won by a landslide.
But some of the actors, including Musiliu
Obanikoro, a former Defence Minister, and Ayo
Fayose, who defeated the incumbent governor,
denied being a party to the plot to rig the
election and questioned the authenticity of the
recording.
Mr. Obanikoro had also threatened a court
action against news organizations who had
published the conversations in the audio tape.
Despite their denials, the Minister of Police
Affairs, Jelili Adesiyan, who also attended the
meeting, confirmed Sunday that the tape was
authentic. He however disagreed with the
context of the discussion, saying the meeting was
never about plans to rig the Ekiti State election.
Speaking Wednesday, Mr. Falana said that none
of the participants in the recording had
successfully challenged the army officer’s
account of the incident.
“I understand that Mr. Obanikoro (whom he
described as a ‘thug’) says he will go to court. I
can assure you here, I dare him to go to court.
He can’t. It’s not possible,” said Mr. Falana, a
Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
“One of the reasons they postponed the election last week is that
disturbing revelation by that Captain. That is what they wanted
to do for the entire country. That revelation has sent them back
to the drawing table. They now have to re-strategize.”
Mr. Falana criticised President Goodluck Jonathan for
“embarrassing” the country with his repeated trips to the Holy
Land, instead of channelling such funds to job creation.
Since he became the President in 2011, Mr. Jonathan has
travelled for pilgrimage twice.
“I was reading the papers yesterday, the president said in
violation of the peace accord, that governors in the north have
not been sending Christians to Jerusalem. In other words, they
have been sponsoring Muslims to Mecca,” said Mr. Falana.
“Please tell the president that there is no provision in our law for
sponsoring anybody to Jerusalem or Mecca.
“Section 10 of the Constitution provides that the Nigerian State
shall not proclaim any religion as an official religion. Therefore,
appropriating billions of Naira every year, wasting money to
send people to Jerusalem or Mecca is illegal.
“If you must know, less than seven per cent of Israelis are
Christians, so they make jest of us. When you descend on them,
that you are there to worship Jesus Christ, they’ll be like ‘are these
people Ok?'”
Mr. Falana also insisted that the general election must hold and
whoever emerges winner should be allowed to govern the
country.
“And I’m challenging Edwin Clark and others, all those old men
with expired ideas. Femi Okurounmu and others,” he said.
“We never saw them when we went to the streets of Lagos and
Abuja to proclaim Goodluck as acting President. You were in the
streets of Lagos, where were these characters? They were
nowhere to be found.
“In fact, quote me. Baba Clark called me in one of our protests,
‘Femi, my son. Please keep it up. We from the Niger Delta cannot
join this struggle now.’ I said why sir? He said ‘because he’s our
son.’ I said what has your son got to do with the quest for justice?
“Professor Wole Soyinka, at the age of 71 (he was actually 76
then) led us in the protest. Please tell them this country belongs to
all of us.”
On the issue of deployment of soldiers during election periods,
Mr. Falana noted that nowhere in the Nigerian Constitution,
Electoral Act, or the Armed Forces Act was a provision made for
soldiers in election.
“So when they told Jega that they are going to be busy in the
north east and they will not be able to secure the election. Please
there is no provision for those Service Chiefs to police our
election,” said Mr. Falana.
“Under Section 76, Section 116, Section 132, and 117, it is the
exclusive responsibility of the INEC to fix dates for election. Only
INEC. Not the president, not the NSA, not the security chiefs.
Knowing that, they then came in fraudulently by saying that they
cannot guarantee your security.
“They have not been able to crush Boko Haram in six years, what
magic are you going to perform in six weeks? Please we reject
their fraudulent claim.”
Mr. Falana maintained that it is the duty of the police to
maintain law and order in peace time.
“Soldiers have no business in town in peace time. Their duty is to
defend the territorial integrity of our country, not to police
election,” he said.
“That is the business of the Police. As a matter of fact, even Boys
Scouts can police elections in Nigeria. You know why? On the day
of election, there is restriction of movement. It is illegal for you to
leave your ward for another ward. Only journalists, observers,
and election workers can move round.
“So if everybody is restricted, why do you need soldiers to come
and help you? To do what? But I will tell you why they need
soldiers. You know why they need soldiers? To rig the election. To
manipulate the process.”


http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/176633-leaked-ekiti-tape-dare-obanikoro-go-court-falana.html

GEJ your secret dey leak oooo.