The Labour Party Campaign Council (LP PCC) has advised the Nigerian military and the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) to stop interpreting the country’s laws.
Yunusa Tanko, the Chief Spokesman for the LP PCC, stated this in response to a statement made by the DHQ Spokesman, Major General Musa Danmadami, in Abuja on Thursday.
Danmadani had condemned the call for an Interim Government by those who were dissatisfied with the outcome of the presidential election, calling it illegal and unconstitutional.
He had said:
On the issue of an interim government, it is rather unfortunate; an election has been conducted and INEC, which is mandated, has announced a president-elect. It is not our responsibility to speak on that issue but I know that several calls have been made by the Presidency that there is nothing like an interim national government.
So I think people were just trying to be mischievous. It is unconstitutional and all of us know that the Constitution does not provide for an Interim National Government; that is the point the Presidency has been hammering on and that is our stand because that is what the Constitution says. It is unconstitutional, so, anything unconstitutional, as far as I’m concerned, is not applicable.
However, in an interview with The Punch on Thursday, Tanko stated that the party and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, had not violated the Constitution by going to court to reclaim their mandate.
He stated that the military is not a court, but rather a respected institution, and expressed hope that when pronouncements are made, they will respect the position of the law.
Tanko said:
“The military is not the court of law. They are making their assertion on what they think they know. The military is a respected institution. So, I know that they will respect the position of the law when pronouncements are being made.
“We at LP are law-abiding citizens who have taken their case to court for redress. What we are doing is taking back our mandate that was illegally given to somebody in a legal process.
“All that we have done is to follow the due process of what has been done in our Constitution in the Federal Republic of Nigeria. For instance, when the Nigerian people and we decided to go on a peaceful protest, it is our own right. Therefore, we have not done anything contrary to the Constitution of Nigeria.”