A former President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Isa Salami (rtd.),has raised a concern over the eligibility of Peter Obi contesting in Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election.
Justice Isa Salami (rtd), made the statement during a courtesy visit by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital. He argued that certain judicial decisions surrounding the election reflected incompetence within the judiciary.
According to the retired jurist, Obi’s candidacy under the Labour Party (LP) was questionable based on the timing of his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) where he lost the primary election. He noted that the Labour Party had already submitted its membership list to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before Obi joined the party.
Salami maintained that the Nigerian Constitution does not recognise independent candidacy, raising doubts about how Obi was able to emerge as the Labour Party’s presidential candidate under those circumstances.
He further cited a similar situation involving Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf, alleging inconsistencies regarding party membership records. Salami claimed that Yusuf’s name was not originally listed in his party’s register despite being issued a membership card.
The former Appeal Court president criticised the judiciary’s handling of such cases, stating that while lower courts had raised objections, the Supreme Court ultimately upheld decisions he believes were flawed.
He attributed these outcomes to what he described as a lack of competence among some judicial officers, warning that such issues could undermine confidence in the legal system.
