PDP BIGWIGS BEHIND ELEVATION - GROUP
A group, Alliance for Better Judiciary (ABJ) has added its voice to the protests trailing the recent move to elevate the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami to the Supreme Court.
The group which accused some politicians in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of being behind the plot, said the latest move would signal the end of 'an institution that had survived several onslaughts from political goons.'
The Coordinator of the group, Chinedu Nwosu in a statement made available to Daily Sun posited that those who hatched the plot are working with powerful elements in the Judiciary in order to cover up for them in the event that they are unceremoniously booted out of office or provide judicial cover for stolen mandates after the general elections in April.
According to the group, Salami has become a threat to those who are planning to rig the 2011 elections and believe the Judiciary would determine the outcome of the elections. ABJ noted that because Salami was known to be an upright man and cannot be compromised, enemies of Nigeria's democracy wanted to ensure that he does not have a say in the constitution of election petition panel to be set up after the 2011 elections.
The statement reads in part: 'The rationale for this is because the present occupant of the office of the President of the Court of Appeal, Honourable Justice Ayo Salami is known to be a man of unshakable uprightness, unimpeachable integrity and impeccable character. Those who know the eminent jurist can attest to the fact that he is loathe to corruption and corrupt tendencies.
He is not one to give in to the demands of corrupt politicians to manipulate electoral panels to deliver questionable verdicts in favour of them or their cronies. It is a known fact that he had on several occasions' resisted moves from within and outside the judiciary to manipulate electoral panels and tribunals to enter verdicts in favour of corrupt politicians who were adjudged to have rigged the elections that brought them into office.?
'He has therefore become a clear target for elimination by these evil plotters who see him as a major obstacle to the actualization of their plans to rig the forthcoming general elections. Because he is constitutionally empowered to constitute electoral tribunals and constitute the members of the Presidential Election Panel of the Court of Appeal as well as the appeal panels for the hearing of legislative and Governorship election appeals.
By his pedigree, he is undoubtedly well positioned to thwart the evil machinations of these corrupt politicians in power. So the strategy of these politicians acting in collaboration with the top echelons of the judiciary is to nominate him for elevation to the Supreme Court bench so that they can nominate a crony to do their evil bidding and get him to act in accordance with their whims.? The statement continued: