Abba Aji: Courts Pronouncements May Threaten Democracy

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/abba-aji-courts-pronouncements-may-threaten-democracy/86811/

Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Mohammed Abba- Aji has said the manner the law courts are granting injunctions on matters concerning elections could threaten the country’s democracy.

The President, he added, is the only presidential candidate, who is presenting himself to the electorate through campaigns, while the others are waiting to rush to the courts after the general elections to benefit from easily secured injunctions.

Abba-Aji, who  spoke while fielding questions from newsmen in Abuja Thursday declared that Vice-President Namadi Sambo would succeed Jonathan in 2015 to ensure that an institutional  memory  and a continuum is entrenched in governance by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He was however quick to add that this was his personal opinion and a project which he plans to work towards just as he helped whittle down the influence of the Ciroma G9 in the North. He added that the zoning arrangement would re-zone the Presidency back to the North and Sambo would be presented.

“I respect the judiciary and its independence, but the way the judiciary is structured where every Judge is a lord unto himself in
his court is dangerous. That is why one court would say one thing and another would say a different thing over the same matter,” he said.

He advocated that even in instances where the judiciary has cause to doubt the credibility of an election,  the courts should pronounce
that re-runs be conducted instead of “ taking from one person and giving it to another”. “Throw them back to the electorate. Aspirants
should not be made to think that the courts can substitute for the electorate and the courts should not see themselves that way too”, he said.

Commenting on the Ciroma-led G9, Abba- Aji revealed how he helped to whittle down the influence of Mallam Adamu Ciroma.
“ I met with strong northern elders and told them the truth that President Jonathan would win because of several factors.

I told them that they should not let him win without the support of the North because it would lead to our political irrelevance in the future. Some of them were open Atiku supporters and they saw reason with me,” he explaine