Emmanuel Ukudolo l Wednesday, March 22, 2023
ABUJA, Nigeria – Attention has now shifted to the presidential election tribunal after the 2023 general election with aggrieved parties, four in number filling petitions in the quest for justice.
Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Kasim Shettima have been listed as Second and third respondents, with their party, All Progressive Congress, APC is 4th respondent. The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC is the first respondent. The plaintiffs filled three separate suits marked, CA/PEPC/01/2023; CA/PEPC/03/2023 and CA/PEPC/04/2023 at the tribunal to challenge the election.
In the result of the election announced by INEC, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the ruling APC scored 8,794,726 to defeat candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar who scored 6,984, 520 and Peter Obi of the Labour Party who polled 6,101,533 votes.
Leading the petitioners, is Mr. Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, who is seeking to invalidate the elections on the basis of non-compliance with the Electoral Act.
Obi and his party prayed for an “ order cancelling the election and compelling the 1st respondent (INEC) to conduct a fresh election at which the 2nd Respondent (Tinubu), 3rd respondent (Shettima) and 4th respondent (APC) shall not participate.”
The party also claimed that at the time of the presidential election, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Kashim Shettima were not qualified to contest the election having been indicted and fined $460,000 for offence involving narcotic trafficking imposed by the United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois in case No. 93C44883.
“The petitioners further plead that the 2nd respondent was also at the time of the election not qualified to contest for election to the office of President, as he was fined the sum of $460,000 (Four-Hundred and Sixty Thousand United States Dollars) for an offence involving dishonesty, namely narcotics trafficking imposed by the United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, in Case No: 93C 4483.
“That by reason of the said disqualification of the 2nd and 3rd respondents, the votes purportedly recorded for the 2nd respondent in the election were/are wasted and invalid; and that the petitioners who from the correct result of the election obtained the highest number of lawful votes cast in the election and met the constitutional requirements to be declared and returned as the winner of the election ought to be declared as the winner of the Presidential election held on February 25, 2023.”
Obi and the LP also prayed “That it be determined that 2nd respondent having failed to score one-quarter of the votes cast at the presidential election in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja was not entitled to be declared and returned as the winner of the presidential election held on Saturday, February 25, 2023”.
Besides, he contended that “it be determined that on the basis of the remaining votes after discountenancing the votes credited to the 2 and 3 respondents, the 1st petitioner(plaintiff) scored a majority of the lawful votes cast at the election and had not less than 25 per cent in each of at least 2/3 of the states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and satisfied the constitutional requirements to be declared the winner of February 25, 2023 presidential election.
The Action Alliance (AA) and its presidential candidate, Mr. Solomon Okangbuan, and Allied People’s Movement (APM) and its presidential candidate, Princess Chichi Ojei also filled petitions.
In its petition marked: CA/PEPC/01/2023, AA is praying the tribunal to nullify the presidential election by reason of unlawful exclusion of their candidate.
The APM on the other hand in its petition marked: CA/PEPC/04/2023 argued that Tinubu was not qualified to contest the election as at the time the election was held.
Besides, the party submitted that by the provisions of Section 131(C) and 142 of the constitution And Section 35 of the Electoral Act, 2022, the declaration and return of the 3rd defendant (Tinubu) as the duly elected President are invalid by reason of noncompliance with the provisions of the constitution and the Electoral Act.
The PDP is also reported to have filed a petition at the tribunal, details of which have not been made public.
