The Social Democratic Party, SDP, flagbearer in the last 2023 presidential election, Prince Adewole Adebayo said at the weekend that he could not comprehend the reasons why the out-going government of President Muhammadu Buhari would want to seek loan from the World Bank when it has less than two weeks to leaving office even as he advised those who are threatening the judiciary should the judgment at the presidential election tribunal does not meet their expectations.
He said staying within the limits and mutual self-regulation makes the world habitable for everyone as threats of posting photos of Justices or their families is uncalled for.
The Minister of Finance and National Planning, Hajia Zainab Ahmed, announced in last month that the Federal Government would secure an $800 million World Bank loan to be disbursed to about 50 million vulnerable Nigerians or 10 million households as part of its subsidy palliatives measures. She said the disbursement is in anticipation of the planned subsidy removal in June.
In his official twitter account @Pres_Adebayo, the international lawyer and businessman said he has laboured in vain to understand the reason why on the eve of the president’s departure from office, the government is still borrowing. “I have laboured in vain to understand econometrics to rationalise any positive multipliers for @MBuhari borrowing $800m from @WorldBank to convert to Naira to share to preselected private accounts of a few citizens with no systematic investment or marginal productivity. Bad”.
“Democracy is about shared spaces and collective institutions. Staying within civilised limits and mutual self regulation make society work for all. In Oyetola v Adeleke, no anarchist picketed the Courts or posted photos of Justices or their families. Yet Lady Justice held scale”.
The Presidential Election Petition tribunal in Abuja began hearing on the complaints filed by opposition political parties and their candidates challenging the president-elect, Bola Tinubu’s victory.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Mr Tinubu and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) the winner of the 25 February poll.
But some opposition candidates with their parties had filed their petitions within 21 days of INEC announcement against the results on March 1st.
The petitioners include the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar who came second, and the Labour Party, with its candidate, Peter Obi as third.
The rest are the Action Alliance (AA), the Action Peoples Party (APP) and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM).