The Methodist Archbishop of Umuahia, Most Rev. Dr Chibuzo Raphael Opoko, has disclosed that he would not give recognition to anyone as Nigeria’s President-elect until the disposition of all court cases arising from the February 25 Presidential poll.
The cleric, who stated this in a chat with Vanguard in Umuahia, lamented the failure of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to upload the results of the presidential election from polling units to its server via the Bi-modal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS machines as required by the new Electoral Act, and as earlier promised by the Commission.
According to him, the allegations of unprecedented manipulations of the presidential poll results were too weighty to be ignored, prompting his resolve not to recognise anybody as President-elect until the final disposition of all petitions on the presidential election before the courts.
He queried: “How can I do that when the premise that INEC used is being challenged in the competent court of law?”
Most Rev. Dr. Opoko, who was a former Secretary of Conference and the Chair, World Methodist Council, Social and International Affairs, said: “Contrary to misconceptions in certain quarters, seen and read in the public domain, the ‘Obedients’ are not members of Labour Party, but millions of Nigerians who are dissatisfied with the goings-on, corruption, insecurity and misgovernance in the land,” adding that the ‘Obedients’ “cut across ages, political parties, tribes, ethnic nationalities, and religions in the country”.
According to him, the ‘Obedients’ are those who believe in the emergence of a new Nigeria where justice, equity, fair play, merit and due process would be the order of the day, adding that supporters of the LP presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, came from different political parties, while some were not even members of any party but only saw in him the face of the new Nigeria of their dream.
He added: A lot of people talk about the ‘Obedients’ as if they are a political party. They are people who are tired and dissatisfied with the way things are done in Nigeria, and they wanted a change.
“They cut across different political parties, religion and geo-political zones.
” They only saw themselves in the expression of the LP candidate who speaks and has the vision of their expectations.
”So, the ‘Obedients’ movement is beyond Peter Obi. Peter Obi is just like a driver that has been engaged by the ‘Obedients’ movement to take them to the promised land.”
He urged the judiciary to be upright in handling the petitions before it, saying the world is watching with keen interest how it will decide on the petitions.
He said: “I urge the judiciary not to betray the confidence reposed in it by the people as the last hope of the common man.
”Nigerians are taking note and identifying those who are working against the Nation. Those who are anti-new Nigeria of their dreams. Those who have their knees on the neck of the nation cause the Nation difficulties in breathing.
”A day of reckoning must surely come and they will never forget but will surely remember. Hence, the judiciary is called upon to dispense justice and uphold truth no matter whose ox is gored.”
