ABUJA, Nigeria — The Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC, has dismissed a petition by the Allied Peoples Movement, APM, challenging the election of President Bola Tinubu.
Chairman Justice Haruna Tsammani, on Wednesday, September 6, 2023, who led the five-member panel, stated that the petition lacked merit.
The case had hinged on the notion that Tinubu and his Vice-President-elect, Sen. Kashim Shettima, were unqualified due to an alleged double nomination.
“The petitioners have no locus standi to challenge the nomination of a candidate by his party,” Justice Tsammani said. “In as much as it follows the stipulations of sections 131 and 137 of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended, the issue of the double nomination has not been proved by the petitioners.”
The APM had argued that the withdrawal of Masari, initially nominated as Vice-Presidential candidate of the APC, invalidated Tinubu’s candidacy.
They contended that Tinubu’s nomination had elapsed by the time he announced Shettima as Masari’s replacement. According to them, as per section 142 of the 1999 Constitution, Tinubu was no longer in a position to nominate a running mate.
However, President Tinubu’s counsel, Mr. Wole Olanipekun, SAN, insisted that the petition against his client lacked merit.
He cited a recent Supreme Court judgment that had dismissed a similar claim against Tinubu, raised by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“The issue has since been settled by the Supreme Court,” said Olanipekun.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), represented by Lateef Fagbemi and Steven Adehi respectively, also pushed for the dismissal of the case, citing the credibility of the electoral process.
The PEPC panel held that qualification issues should be resolved by the Federal High Court rather than an election tribunal and that such matters should have been clarified at the pre-hearing session.
Justice Tsammani added that the court had considered the evidence presented by APM, which closed its case on June 21 after calling only one witness, but found the arguments insufficient.
The dismissal comes after another petition by the Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, was also deemed incompetent by the tribunal earlier today.
The court is expected to rule on a third petition by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party soon.
The collective rejection of the petitions so far has been hailed by many as a validation of the February 25 election, which INEC had declared credible.
President Tinubu was elected with 8.8 million votes, defeating his closest rival, Atiku, who garnered 6,984,520 votes.
“In the end, democracy has won. We had faith that the court would uphold the credibility of the electoral process,” said a member of President Tinubu’s legal team.
“Now it’s time to focus on governing and fulfilling the promises made to the Nigerian people.”
The PEPC ruling marks another step forward for President Tinubu, allowing him to steer his administration’s focus away from legal battles and towards the manifold challenges facing Nigeria today.
