By Kamil Opeyemi
Former Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has denied writing judgement for the presidential election petition tribunal (PEPT).
Jackson Ude, a Twitter user, had alleged that Fashola and some lawyers of the All Progressives Congress (APC) were writing a judgement the ruling party intends to hand over to the judges. Responding through a statement by Hakeem Bello, his Special Adviser on Media, said the allegation is “baseless and defamatory”.
He described those behind the allegations as “agents of destabilisation”. “Fashola expressed his disappointment with the spread of this false information on social media platforms and has called on security agencies to take action against those responsible for spreading fake news,” the statement reads.
“In response to the allegation, Fashola clarified that he has been away from Abuja for an extended period of time, rendering the claims entirely unfounded.
“The former minister believes that these allegations may be part of a wider campaign to undermine the judiciary by those who seek to manipulate the institution for their own gain.
“He emphasises the importance of unmasking the perpetrators and their sponsors and ensuring that they face the appropriate legal consequences.” The former minister said he has initiated the process of filing formal petitions against the offensive tweets and online reports with the management of X (formerly known as Twitter) and the National Communications Commission (NCC).
He urged the relevant security agencies to treat the matter with “utmost seriousness, as it strikes at the heart of judicial independence”.
He also asked Nigerians to disregard the false allegations and urged them to report any individuals “involved in spreading such dangerous fabrications to the relevant security agencies”.
Last Tuesday, the tribunal reserved judgment on the petition filed by Atiku Abubakar, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), against President Bola Tinubu.