Peter Obi 2023 election qualification has come under fresh scrutiny from a former President of the Court of Appeal. Justice Isa Salami (retd) stated on Tuesday that the former Anambra State Governor should not have been permitted to contest the presidency under the Labour Party (LP) banner.
Speaking in Ilorin during a visit from the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ), Salami suggested that legal technicalities regarding party membership were overlooked. He argued that when Obi joined the LP after losing the PDP primary, the party had already submitted its official membership list to INEC.
Justice Isa Salami Judiciary Critique: A Systemic “Tragedy”
The retired jurist did not limit his remarks to the 2023 polls. He launched a searing Justice Isa Salami judiciary critique, attributing controversial verdicts to the “inadequacy and incompetence” of certain judges. Justice Isa Salami warned that the bench is increasingly populated by “bad eggs” who lacks the necessary professional background.
“Imagine appointing a higher registrar as a judge,” Salami remarked. “He has no experience. In the past, this would not have happened.” He noted that the current trend of treating High Court appointments as a mere promotion for magistrates is weakening the system.
Labour Party Membership Register and the Kano Precedent
Salami pointed to the Labour Party membership register as a critical failure in the 2023 cycle. He drew parallels with the Governor of Kano State, Abba Yusuf, noting that the Supreme Court “countenanced” candidates whose names were missing from official party registers, despite lower courts frowning upon the practice.
Zonal Vacancies vs. Merit on the Bench
The jurist lamented that promotions to the Supreme Court are often dictated by zonal vacancies rather than merit. “People get to the Supreme Court not because they are good but because there is a vacancy in their zone,” he said. He described this as a tragedy where more experienced senior justices are frequently superseded.
Salami concluded by noting the influence of Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Prof Wole Soyinka on his career, urging a return to a judiciary defined by audacity and principles.
