| Only judiciary can
stop Atiku, Kalu, others – British envoy
By MOLLY KILETE. Abuja
Tuesday,
February 20, 2007
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Richard Gozney
Photo: Sun News Publishing |
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British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Richard Gozney,
on Monday said that the determination of who was eligible to contest in the April
elections rested solely with the judiciary.
Gozny, who made this known
when he visited the Minister of State for Aviation Transport, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode,
in his office, said that while the British government was interested in a smooth
civilian-to-civilian transition in Nigeria, the rule of law was important in determining
which candidate was eligible to contest in the election.
The envoy spoke
against widespread criticism of the disqualification of some candidates by the
Federal Government, purportedly, acting on the reports of the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Governors Orji
Kalu (Abia), Bola Tinubu (Lagos) and Ibrahim Shekarau (Kano) topped the list of
the allegedly disqualified politicians.
According to the British envoy,
even though the EFCC and other related panels set up by the Federal Government
to look into the activities of some allegedly corrupt politicians who expressed
desire to contest the April elections had indicted some of them, it was only the
judiciary that has the powers to stop such politicians from taking part in the
elections.
He, however, noted that while the decision of the court on this
matter was final, the people’s opinions on the outcome of the decision of
the judiciary should also be taken into consideration, especially in a democratic
dispensation.
He said: "The last comment on the elections is that
the rule of law is important. If we have dispute about who should be eligible
as a candidate or which party is putting in a candidate or not, it should be for
the court to decide and when the court decides and then instructs, that instruction
is what should happen, that should be the final word and that is proving the case.
It is important also if the people like the decision and instructions of the court
or not, but we must recognize that in a democracy, the courts have the final word
and if the courts have spoken, the rest of us have to jump to and do whatever
they suggest."
Commenting on the doubts and speculations on whether
the elections would hold as scheduled, the high commissioner said that even though
there had been some roadblocks here and there, he was optimistic that the elections
would hold. According to him, Britain, as a good friend of Nigeria, was interested
in seeing that the elections succeed.
"We are watching with great
interest and we have lots of observers here. We hope to be meeting with the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) every week or so because we want to succeed,
but we will work for ourselves on the grounds that it is succeeding and so far
I think the progress we are making towards the elections in April is pretty good.
Although we notice bumps on the road from time to time, on the whole, I am more
than optimistic that we are going to see some quite good elections in April. I
know there will be real issue coming up on the midnight of February 20, over the
question of the list," he said.
Gozny attributed the crisis rocking
the Niger Delta region to lack of confidence by the people of the area in the
local, state and federal governments.
He said that the people of the Niger
Delta had lost hope and confidence in government and called on those who would
take over the leadership of the country in May to, as a matter of priority, create
an avenue to woo members of the various communities in the core Niger Delta region
and put in place basic amenities and infrastructure like water, electricity, good
roads, schools, health facilities, among others, as a way of reducing and preventing
youths from joining the various militant groups in the area.
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