The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, PEPC, in Abuja, has postponed further proceedings on the case filed by Labour Party’s Peter Obi to contest the results of the Nigerian 2023 presidential election, until May 17.
The Independent National Election Commission, INEC, President-elect Bola Tinubu, Vice President-elect Kashim Shettima, and the All Progressives Congress, APC, are listed as the petition’s first through fourth respondents.
As soon as the case’s hearings started, Obi and the LP informed the court that the parties had met and decided to request an adjournment so they could file and exchange the appropriate legal documents.
He informed the court that numerous procedures and motions had yet to be submitted in the case.
The adjournment, according to Uzoukwu, SAN, will allow for a swift hearing and decision on the issue.
“My Lords, we met and agreed that the matter should be adjourned till next Wednesday so that when we are coming back, we will be sure that the processes are ripe for hearing.
“We also agreed that before then, we will meet and take decisions on documents that are not in contention and documents that are controversial,” Uzoukwu added.
After a brief discussion on Wednesday afternoon, the parties decided to apply for an adjournment, according to confirmation from INEC through its attorney, Mr. A. B. Mahmood (SAN).
The extension was required, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), the attorney for Tinubu and Shettima, observed, “so that when we come next Wednesday, all the applications will be ready for adoption.”
Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), the APC’s attorney, also stated that his client thought the adjournment would speed up the process.
After hearing from all parties, the five-member panel under the direction of Judge Haruna Tsammani agreed to the request for an adjournment.
The petition’s essential problems must be identified, according to the court’s directive to the parties.
The matter was then put on hold while the pre-hearing session continued.
Obi’s Argument
Peter Obi specifically asked the court in his petition to rule that Tinubu had not been legitimately elected by the majority of the valid votes cast in the presidential election.
Obi claimed that Tinubu was ineligible to run for office at the time of the election in the petition, which he based on three arguments.
He argued that at the time Tinubu’s running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima, became the vice presidential candidate, he was still the nominated candidate of the APC for the Borno Central Senatorial election.
Obi and the LP also contested Tinubu’s eligibility to run for president, claiming that he had previously been fined $460,000 for a crime combining dishonesty and narcotics trafficking by the United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, in Case No: 93C 4483.
The petitioners stated that INEC operated in violation of its own laws and guidelines on the grounds that the election was unlawful due to corrupt activities and non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022.
The petitioners said that the electoral authority was mandated to establish and implement electronic devices for the accreditation, verification, continuation, and authentication of voters and their information as stipulated in its rules during the conduct of the presidential election.
As a result, they requested that the court rule that Tinubu was unable to run for office and also rule that any votes cast for him during the 2023 presidential election were invalid due to his ineligibility.
“That it is determined that on the basis of the remaining votes (after discountenancing the votes credited to the 2nd Respondent), the 1st Petitioner scored a majority of the lawful votes cast at the election and had not less than 25% of the votes cast in 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 the 25th February 2023 presidential election.
“That it be determined that the second 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 February 25, 2023.