US embassy cable - 04ABUJA588

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 000588 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, KDEM, NI 
SUBJECT: VP ATIKU RAILS AGAINST ADAMAWA JUDGEMENT, SUFFERS 
REBUKE  FROM INFLUENTIAL NIGERIANS AND PARTISANS 
 
REF: ABUJA 539 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED, NOT FOR PUBLICATION ON THE 
INTERNET OR THE INTRANET 
 
1.  (U) SUMMARY: Following the March 24 nullification of Boni 
Haruna's 2003 Adamawa gubernatorial victory by the Adamawa 
State 
Election Tribunal, Vice President Atiku Abubakar angrily 
voiced 
his opposition to the ruling at a People's Democratic Party 
(PDP) 
rally in Yola.  Unfortunately for Atiku, his invective was 
received poorly and has caused prominent Nigerians to 
question 
his commitment to the rule of law and his suitability as a 
Presidential candidate in 2007.  END SUMMARY 
 
2.  (U) During a March 26 PDP rally in Yola, Vice President 
Atiku 
Abubakar lashed out against the Adamawa State Election 
Tribunal 
for its nullification of Boni Haruna's 2003 Adamawa 
gubernatorial 
election.  Atiku accused Tribunal Chairman Kashim Zanna of 
bias 
and said the ruling was an attempt to steal Haruna's mandate 
and 
embarrass the Vice President and his protg  Atiku went as 
far 
as to say he was ready "to insult, beat or slap anyone" who 
would 
try to take the gubernatorial seat away from the PDP. 
 
3.  (U) Despite statements from the Vice President's office 
accusing the press of misrepresenting his statements, 
reaction to 
Atiku's Yola tirade was swift and negative.  Nigerian Bar 
Association President Wole Olanipekun called the Vice 
President's 
comments a threat to Nigeria's nascent democracy.  Olanipekun 
went on to say that Atiku had no right to level such harsh 
criticism on the judiciary since the Vice President and the 
executive branch had so clearly failed the country.  Going 
on, 
Olanipekun mused that the situation in Nigeria would be 
greatly 
improved if the executive branch was half as "sober, honest, 
transparent, sincere, humane and dispassionate" as the 
judiciary 
and wondered if Atiku would now blame the judiciary for the 
growing number of unresolved killings and assassinations 
littering the Nigerian political landscape. 
 
4.  (U) During an interview carried by the BBC Hausa Service, 
Yahaya Mohmoud, a respected Kaduna-based lawyer and former 
Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association's Kaduan branch, 
called 
on the Vice President to retract his comments and publicly 
apologize to the Adamawa Tribunal and Justice Zanna.  Mohmoud 
was 
critical of Atiku, saying he expected the Vice President to 
recognize that the ruling would demonstrate the independence 
of 
the judiciary and strengthen the rule of law.  Such disregard 
for 
the rule of law coming from a man with Presidential 
aspirations 
did not portend well for Nigeria. 
 
5.  (U) Opposition partisans wasted no time in criticizing 
the 
Vice President.  Former Osun State Governor and Alliance for 
Democracy (AD) party leader Bisi Akande strongly condemned 
Atiku 
and hailed the judiciary as the one branch of the government 
free 
from the control of the PDP "thugs."  All Nigerian Peoples 
Party 
(ANPP) National Secretary Sani El-Katuzu also took advantage 
of 
the opportunity to criticize Atiku saying his comments 
revealed 
he was not a true democrat and that he had not intention of 
supporting the rule of law when it did not suit his needs. 
 
6.  (SBU) COMMENT: While criticism of the Vice President by 
opposition party members is not necessarily noteworthy, the 
dim 
view of Atiku's comments taken by Olanipekun, Mohmoud and 
other 
influential Nigerians, both Northerners and Southerners, is 
indicative of Atiku's unpopularity.  Already saddled with the 
failure of the Obasanjo administration to improve the lot of 
the 
average Nigerian, it is difficult to imagine Atiku emerging 
as a 
successful PDP standard bearer in the 2007 election if he is 
also 
labeled as undemocratic and disinterested in the rule of law. 
 
END COMMENT. 
ROBERTS