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The Founder of Stanbic IBTC and Anap Foundation, Atedo Peterside, has faulted those who perceived the “All Eyes on the Judiciary” mantra as offensive to the nation's judicial system.
Making a case for the controversial slogan, Peterside took to his Twitter page on Friday, August 18, 2023, to argue that no sincere person should feel offended by the phrase.
The 'all eyes on the judiciary' phrase was coined and popularised by supporters of opposition parties to pressure the judiciary, particularly the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal (PEPT), to be non-partial in the dispensation of petitions before it.
You'd recall that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party (LP)’s Peter Obi are challenging the victory of President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the PEPT.
As Nigerians await tribunal verdict, the phrase has gained more traction, appearing on billboards around Abuja.
The development, however, divided opinions among Nigerians, with some viewing the billboard concept as a subtle threat to the judiciary.
But Peterside insisted that the phrase is harmless and shouldn't be viewed as offensive by any right-thinking person.
“For the record, methinks #AllEyesOnTheJudiciary is a neutral slogan that should ordinarily not offend a right-thinking & sincere person in a civilised society,” he said.
“I can understand someone rejecting a negative slogan like “Let us turn our noses up at the Judiciary”. Enough said,” he tweeted.
Peterside's argument comes on the heels of the decision of the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) to dissolve its Advertising Standards Panel over the hotly debated billboards.
A statement by the Director General of ARCON, Dr Olalekan Fadolapo, on Tuesday, August 14, 2023, said the concepts exposed were not approved by the panel, saying the advertising council had directed that all the materials being exposed be brought down immediately and the
“The Advertising Standards Panel of the Council also erred in the approval of one of the concepts as the advertisement failed vetting guidelines on the following grounds,” Fadolapo added.