Obi’s demands impossible, Tinubu’s swearing-in a must – LP

The Lamidi Apapa faction of the Labour Party has distanced itself from the recent calls for an interim government and the agitations surrounding the President-elect, Bola Tinubu.

The faction’s spokesman, Abayomi Arabambi, stressed that the swearing-in of Tinubu on May 29th, pending the determination of petitions before the presidential election tribunal, would have no impact on the ongoing legal tussle involving the APC, INEC, and their party.

Arabambi, in a statement issued on Wednesday and made available to TopNaija, posited that both the Electoral Act and the Nigerian Constitution do not allow for a vacuum in government. He emphasized that whether the President-elect is sworn in or not, there is a right to remove him legally if it is discovered that he was not duly elected.

The LP factional spokesman cited the case of Anambra State in 2003, where the court removed Chris Ngige and confirmed Peter Obi as the governor. According to Arabambi, only death or permanent incapacity can stop a President-elect from being sworn in, as stated in sections 136 and 146 of the Nigerian Constitution.

Arabambi maintained that the law does not provide for an interim president in this circumstance, and that “even Peter Obi once benefited from the system of being sworn into office despite pending petitions filed against him before the tribunal by Andy Uba.” He added that “the law has to be complied with, which is to swear in Tinubu as president, and if anybody wants to change the narrative, they will have to change the law.”

The LP factional spokesman warned individuals who may be agitating for Tinubu’s swearing-in to be halted to have a rethink, emphasizing that the Labour Party would not support any unlawful means of agitations or change of government violently. He urged those concerned to follow the legal process, as the LP would continue to pursue its case in court.