The pre-hearing of the petition filed by the Labour Party (LP) and Peter Obi contesting Bola Tinubu’s victory in the presidential election on February 25 has been adjourned by the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal in Abuja on Monday until May 10, 2023.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate Tinubu’s victory is being challenged by the former governor of Anambra State, who finished third in the presidential election.
Obi and his party have called for the tribunal to look into the situation and issue a fair judgement after raising concerns about the transparency and fairness of the electoral process.
The petition, jointly filed by Obi and his party, has the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Tinubu, Shettima Kashim, and the APC as the respondents.
Obi and LP want the tribunal to determine “that the 2nd Respondent (Tinubu) 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 25 February 2023”.
Obi and his party also prayed to the court to order the cancellation of the February 25 presidential election.
They added that: “the Presidential election conducted on 25th February 2023 is void on the ground that the election was not conducted substantially in accordance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 and Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended”.
In addition to the election cancellation, the LP candidate asked the court to compel INEC to conduct a fresh election.
Obi also prayed the tribunal to make an order that will disqualify Tinubu and his running mate, Shettima from the fresh election.
He said, “The nomination of Kashim Shettima as the Vice Presidential candidate was defective as he did not withdraw from his nomination as a senatorial candidate of his party before accepting to serve as the vice presidential candidate of Tinubu”.
Ada Peter