Don’t disrupt May 29 inauguration, activist warns protesters

Asking President-elect not to be sworn is calling for anarchy, says Law Professor

A socio-political activist and critic, Chief Adesunbo Onitiri, has warned those planning to disrupt the May 29 swearing-in ceremony in Abuja, through organised protests to desist from their plans.

Onitiri, who issued the warning in a statement in Lagos, yesterday, said if they go ahead with their plan, they would be fanning the embers of disunity and discord, adding that they should allow the court to decide.

He also warned that the democrats in the country would not allow another June 12 imbroglio to happen.

According to Onitiri, the 2023 presidential election has been held and a winner emerged. “Now that the losers have gone to court, they should wait for the court to decide and not to engage in self-help that would throw the country into tumult.”

He said that the Abuja protest is another way towards installing an interim government, which the democrats would resist.

The social critic advised the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Mr. Peter Obi to caution their supporters not to foment trouble that will set Nigeria ablaze or backward.

Onitiri was of the belief that the Abuja protest, if allowed to be hijacked by hoodlums, is capable of aborting the country’s current hard-earned fledging democracy.

He also expressed concern that the way and manner politicians who lost in the presidential election were pursuing their alleged lost mandate posed serious danger to the survival of the nation.

Similarly, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and Professor of Law, Adeniyi Olatunbosun, has said that the call for the president-elect, Bola Tinubu, not to be sworn in on May 29, 2023 is tantamount to calling for anarchy and chaos.

Speaking with The Guardian in Ibadan, Olatunbosun pointed out that the law allows that once a person has been declared winner, he or she must be sworn in.

He added that if there is any decision to the contrary, it should be through a judicial process, warning that it is not for the people to say that the person who has been elected should not be sworn in.

While lauding the stakeholders in the 2023 presidential elections that have gone to court, which he described as the most ideal and legitimate in pursuing what they believe in, the Law Professor pointed out that extra-judicial approach is not expected and counter-productive.

Speaking specifically on those saying Tinubu should not be sworn in, the professor said: “There is freedom of expression, but within the context of freedom of expression, there are obligations imposed on the citizens. The public or group perception about a particular issue should not in anyway determine the outcome of any action being taken. Such a call is not within the law.

“The law allows that once a person has been declared, the person must be sworn in when the day comes. And if there is any decision to the contrary, the steps are there through the judicial process. But it is not for the people to say that the person who has been elected should not be sworn in. We are calling for anarchy and chaos. That is not due process of law.”