Minister of State for Labour, Employment and Productivity Festus Keyamo, has petitioned the Department of State Services over alleged “inciteful comments” made by the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi and his vice-presidential candidate, Datti Baba-Ahmed.
In the petition dated March 23, 2023, Keyamo who was also the spokesperson for the Tinubu-Shettima campaign council, accused Obi and Datti of making inciting comments in recent utterances.
The minister also stated that he had it on good authority that Obi and Datti recruited some youths to push demands for an interim government on social media.
The petition partly read, “I write this petition with the full realisation that in a post-election period such as this, there is a need to soothe frayed nerves, lower the temperature and begin the healing process. The President-Elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has issued a statement to this effect a few days ago.
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“However, it appears the Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi and Datti Baba-Ahmed, are not prepared to toe this conciliatory path for the sake of peace and national cohesion, whilst exercising their rights to pursue duly laid-down constitutional means of addressing their grievances. In this regard, since the declaration of the Presidential election results, they have been hopping from one media house to the other making incendiary comments and claims about the declaration of the President-elect by the Independent National Electoral Commission”.
Speaking further in the petition, Keyamo noted that the comments and claims were made, “not just within the boundaries of exercising their rights to freedom of speech and the freedom to air their grievances publicly, but they have since crossed the line .. by insisting on the adoption of other processes outside the contemplation of our constitution.
“In some cases, their privies have even called for the establishment of an Interim Government.”
While defending his position, Keyamo recounted comments made by Baba-Ahmed on behalf of himself and Obi on Channels Television on Wednesday, March 22, 2023, wherein he threatened that if the President-elect was sworn in on May 29, 2023, it would “signal the end of democracy.”
Keyamo noted that Datti posed as an accuser, a judge and a jury all by himself and “he unilaterally declared the duly elected President-elect as “unconstitutional” and, in a subliminal manner, threatened mayhem if the President-elect is sworn in on May 29, 2023.”
While commending Obi and Baba-Ahmed for submitting their petition to the court for adjudication, he noted that their conduct and utterances amounted to “subversion of the processes” they had instituted in court and a subversion of the laid-down processes for addressing disputes and grievances.
“These conduct and utterances are a build-up to something more sinister and it is important you rein them in now.
“In the circumstance, I submit this petition in my personal capacity as a patriotic Nigerian to invite/arrest, interrogate and after investigation, if necessary, charge both individuals to court for their conduct which amounts to incitement and treasonable felony”.
