GUARDIAN

Saturday, May 31, 2008              

Tribunal Victories: An Exercise In Futility After All?
By Godwin Ijediogor

WHEN candidates of the political parties that felt short-changed by way of rigging and exclusion from the governorship contest in their states in last year's April 14 election started filling petitions at the various Election Petitions Tribunals, some of them had hoped to end up at the Government House. But even with victories at the tribunals or Court of Appeal, it has become very clear, from the outcome of re-run or by-elections in Kogi, Adamawa, Sokoto and Bayelsa states that their legal victories would not translate to electoral gains in real political terms. Rather, it seems an exercise in futility and worse still, a one-year extension for the incumbents.

For those politicians and party candidates in the states governorship elections on April 14 last year, who had expected to make it to Government House through the election tribunals and Court of Appeal, their dreams may never be realised in the life of the current leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), like the one before it.

Even with the boost of legal victories that upturned the election of incumbents, political and electoral victories for them, will remain a mirage and wishful thinking in the current political clime. This is due to the ruling parties' (at all levels) quest and inclination to winning a fresh election landslide, with fresh methodology being churned out by their spin-doctors.

It is not that most of the other parties as presently constituted, except the PDP, are deeply rooted and could pose threatening electoral challenges, but the tendency of parties to clear the votes and win 100 per cent, or even more if it were possible, makes victory even for the strongest opposition near impossible.

For All Nigeria Peoples Party's (ANPP) Abubakar Audu in Kogi and Action Congress's (AC) Ibrahim Bapetel in Adamawa, who were illegally disqualified by INEC for the election, legal victory was a certainty, but not electoral victory in a fresh poll in whatever name, given the prevailing and obvious circumstances.

The same goes for AC's Ebitimi Amgbare in Bayelsa. But Democratic Peoples Party's (DPP) Muhammadu Maigari Dingyadi's ambition of succeeding his political master and former governor, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa in Sokoto by clinging to the yet unambiguous judgment of the Kaduna Court of Appeal, nullifying the election of Governor Aliyu Wamakko could not sail through. Perhaps he had realised that his chances of wining a re-run was slim, especially without state and federal resources and machineries.

In all the cases mentioned, rather than unseat them, the legal loses suffered by the governors eventually translated to an additional year for them. As Vice President Goodluck Jonathan unguardedly stated during the flag off of Governor Timipre Sylva's campaign to reclaim his earlier mandate, which was quashed by the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt: "The wining of the election is not a problem in the state; the rescheduled election is a blessing in disguise to the state. It will go a long way to show the entire world that PDP truly won the April 14 general election in the state."

He added that Sylva and his deputy, Peremobowei Ebebi were only on leave and will bounce back after last Saturday's re-run election, and like they actually did.

For the candidates still at the tribunals and Court of Appeal, like AC's Peter Okocha (Delta), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Adams Oshiomhole (Edo), ANPP's Ajimobi (Oyo) and Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), and Labour Party's (LP) Olusegun Mimiko (Ondo), etc, it may all come to nothing if the court orders a fresh election. They would be swept off, just like Audu, Bapetel, Dingyadi and Amgbare. This realisation might have informed AC's contemplation to stay away from such exercise in the future.

After counting the cost of losing an election, it was be time to count the cost of legal victory that amounted to nothing more than putting the records straight for candidates such as Audu, Bapetel, Amgbare and Dingyadi. Considering the high cost of the legal victories, these candidates go for a re-run with a shallow pocket, as against a former governor that has access to near limitless state treasury and federal backing.

In a country where money politics is very high, the opposition candidates are in a disadvantaged position before the polls. The fact that a politician out of power, having lost patronage, easily loses followership makes matters worse. And because most politicians of today cannot look beyond their nose, they soon become orphaned.

This explains why most professional politicians want to belong to the ruling clique or party at the state or federal levels rather than be in the opposition camp or out of favour, because they are like fish out of water, no matter how murky.

Unless the necessary laws are amended to ensure that legal matters arising from elections are disposed off before winners assume office and politicians start thinking of building a viable and enduring opposition to the government in power, nothing will change, as regards victories at the tribunals and appellate court and outcome of a re-run or by-election, no matter the party in power.

This is because Nigerian political parties are the same- devoid of ideologies and politicians are the same stock, think alike and are guided by the same principles and interests, which in most cases are anything but patriotic.