A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State, Prince John Mayaki, has warned the vice presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Datti Baba-Ahmed, to immediately withdraw his comments disputing the victory of the President-elect, Bola Tinubu.
Mayaki in a statement said Datti will face legal actions bordering on criminal incitement and sedition if he fails to retract his comment.
Datti had challenged Tinubu’s victory in a television interview with a controversial claim that the country lacks a president-elect and could, therefore, not conduct a swearing-in ceremony and official power handover on May 29.
His claim drew widespread criticism, including from democracy activists and civil society groups who regarded it as reckless and capable of fomenting trouble in the country.
According to Mayaki, “This is not a question of freedom of speech but rather what we must do, as citizens and joint shareholders of our country’s democracy and stability, when self-serving and irresponsible actors shout hate and dangerous divisive rhetorics into the loud and ubiquitous megaphones that are the conventional and new media.
“Regardless of anyone’s personal feelings and preference, the election has produced a winner who will be sworn in on the 29th of May in accordance with the laws of this country and the democratic norms we have kept since 1999 when we won back our freedom after years of bloody struggle.
“It is totally unbecoming for somebody to risk all of that just because his wet dream of seizing power was denied by the majority of Nigerians and for him to feel emboldened to go on television to spread inciting and seditious comments.
“This cannot just end at words; we must take action to ensure that there is never a repeat of such thoughtless action capable of throwing our country into chaos.
“Datti-Ahmed must offer an immediate retraction, complete with an apology to the APC and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, or be brought in to answer for criminal incitement and sedition.
“The media, too, must ensure accountability and deny him access until he atones for his recklessness. This is in keeping with the media’s obligation to defend the truth and objective fact, which includes Bola Tinubu’s standing as the President-Elect.”
Mayaki also praised Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, for his recent condemnation of Datti Baba-Ahmed’s comments, adding that the democracy activist had yet again demonstrated courage where others, out of fear of a tyrannical mob, chose the complicity of silence.
