Tinubu’s non-interference in the judiciary rekindles hope – Marafa, IPAC

Senator Kabiru Marafa of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has said that President Bola Tinubu’s non-interference in the Supreme Court’s decision on governorship tussles has restored hope in the judiciary and safeguarded the country’s democracy.

Marafa, the Zamfara State Coordinator of President Tinubu and Senator Kashim Shettima’s Campaign Council during the 2023 general elections, said in a statement signed and issued in Abuja on Monday that President Tinubu and the justices of the apex court have lived up to Nigerians’ expectations, adding that posterity will judge them well for allowing the will of Nigerian voters to prevail.

“This is a positive development.” President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has protected the country’s democracy and avoided a repeat of the 1983 scenario through his solitary act of non-interference in the Supreme Court’s decision. “You will recall that the Second Republic collapsed after the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) seized states previously held by the opposition,” he remarked.

Marafa, who represented Zamfara Central Senatorial District from 2011 to 2019, stated that the outcome of the Supreme Court’s ruling on the governorship elections has strengthened his faith in the judiciary’s ability and aptitude to correct any wrong in political progress.

He recalled a similar occurrence in the run-up to the 2019 general elections, when he was the APC’s leading candidate for the governorship ticket in Zamfara State.

“I protested the conduct of the kangaroo primaries and the imposition of candidates by the then governor, Abdulaziz Yari, the judiciary stood up to the occasion and delivered a landmark judgement that gave the whole state to the PDP, the opposition party,” he told reporters.

He urged the eight governors whose elections were confirmed on Friday to be magnanimous, just, and fair in governing their respective states, congratulating Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal and urging him to work to justify the people’s trust in him.

Following the recent Supreme Court rulings on state governorship elections, the Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC) applauded President Tinubu for his dedication to the independence of the judiciary and the fundamentals of the rule of law.

Yusuf Dantalle, the National Chairman of IPAC, stated in a statement on Monday that Tinubu deserved praise for his impartiality in the judicial process.