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Festus Keyamo
By Ibraheem Hamza Muhammad
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, (APC) Festus Keyamo, (SAN) has replied Cardinal John Onaiyekan that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu would be sworn-in on May 29, 2023.
He said in a statement in Abuja that, “Dear daddy Onaiyekan, you know we all respect you a lot, but your political comments are becoming unstatesmanlike.
“A statesman who doubles as a Man of God should strive to be fair to all. You didn’t say the same thing when Obasanjo, Yar’adua, Jonathan and Buhari were all sworn-in as Presidents when their cases were still before the courts.
“You have chosen to single out the President-Elect this time around because the candidate you and your other religious brethren openly supported lost the election and you all feel humiliated and embarrassed.
“All issues raised against the victory of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in court now (whether it is 25% votes in FCT or the fake drug issue, etc.) are not different from issues raised against previous Presidents-elect because basically the complaints have always been that the declared victor didn’t win the election fair and square or wasn’t qualified to contest an election.
“No disqualifying issue against a candidate can be greater than other disqualifying issue since a single issue can decide against a President-elect.
“So why all the fuse now? It has always been our electoral template since 1999 for the declared winner winner to be sworn into office in order to avoid a vacuum and not to foist an unconditional contraption on the system with the cases in Court. While the cases are in Court.
“My dear daddy, may I respectfully advise that going forward, you and your brethren may consider stepping back from the deep and murky waters of politics and desist from descending into the arena if political conflicts were your children in your congregations find themselves in different sides of political divides, so it would be unfair to them for you to openly take sides.
“The embarrassment to the body of Christ is getting too much and no politician is worth dragging this dignified body into unnecessary political controversy
“Is this too much to ask, daddy?” asked the Minister of State, Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity.
It could be recalled that, the former Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Cardinal John said that, “There are cases in court that have not been disposed of. That is why we are in an anomalous situation. We have a president-elect whose election is being challenged and the court is handling it,” he said.
“I’m still waiting for the court to tell me who won the election. It doesn’t make much sense to be swearing in people when they are still in court.
“I know it has happened with governors but the outcome has really not been the best of all cases. I think we need to review our election process, so we do have a winner who will be sworn in and whom everybody would rally around,” Keyamo noted.
