Democracy will end in Nigeria if Tinubu is sworn in - Datti talks tough

Datti Baba-Ahmed, the running-mate to the Labour Party's candidate, Peter Obi, in the just concluded presidential election, has insisted that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu doesn't deserve to be sworn in as Nigeria's president because he wasn't duly elected.

This is as Datti called on President Muhammadu Buhari and the Chief Justice of the Federation to not take part in an unconstitutional act by swearing in the president-elect on May 29, 2023.

He made these remarks during his appearance on the Channels Television Programme, 'Politics Today,' on Wednesday, March 22, 2023.

This comes after the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, declared Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) winner of the February 25, 2023 election.

Yakubu announced that the President-elect had met all the Constitutional requirements for a candidate to be declared winner, including scoring 25% of votes cast in two-thirds of each of the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

However, Datti, whose party has submitted a petition to the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) to challenge Tinubu's victory, warned that democracy will end on May 29, 2023, if Tinubu is sworn in as the president.

He premised his argument on the claim that the former Lagos State governor wasn't properly elected as, according to him, Tinubu failed to achieve 25% of votes cast in the FCT, as required by Section 134 of the 1999 Constitution.

He further stated that he doesn't believe his party would get justice in court and therefore suggested that it'd be "better to swear in the Nigerian Army" on May 29, than swearing in the President-elect.

Datti's words: "There is no president-elect in Nigeria because the declared one violates the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and I know what I'm saying. The constitution is there, everybody is reading it as I speak.

"I'm not therefore behaving illegally or unconstitutionally. To the contrary, I'm supporting constitutionality. It's in fact better for the powers that be to go and create additional 6% out of thin air and rig it back to Tinubu and therefore swear him in on 25% than to take risk of swearing in a so-called President-elect that has not met the constitutional requirement."

He continued: "Swearing in Tinubu and Shettima is as good as swearing in the Nigerian Army on the 29th of May. If you swear in people that have not satisfied the constitutional requirements, you have by so doing ended democracy. The crisis I'm telling you now is that this our democracy is going to end by the way we're going. This democracy is going to end on the 29th of May, 2023, please write it.

"Mr President, do not hold that inauguration. CJN, your Lordship, do not partake in unconstitutionality. I'm taking this risk for the sake of my country. Yes, it's extreme and I'm saying it. It was more extreme for Yakubu to issue that certificate, it was reckless. He's putting all our lives in danger, all of us. We're already at risk so what is there in me taking risk again?"