Tribunal dismisses Obi, LP’s petition against Tinubu, declares it unmeritorious

…LP claim that Tinubu was not duly elected is “ridiculous”

The Presidential Election Petitions Court on Wednesday described as “unmeritorious”, the petitions of the Labour Party (LP) and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, claiming that President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was not duly elected during the February 25, 2023 poll.

On the contention by LP that Tinubu ought not to be declared winner of the election because he scored less than 25 per cent votes in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and was not duly elected by majority of lawful votes cast, the Tribunal held that the argument is “ridiculous”.

The five-man panel led by Justice Haruna Tsammani considered the directive of state policy and the preamble of the constitution that provides for the equality of citizens and held that by the provisions of Section 134 (2a) of the constitution, and without any form of equivocation, “scoring 25 percent in the FCT in a presidential election is not mandatory and this issue was also resolved against the petitioner and in favour of the respondent”.

The court subsequently declared LP’s petition clearly unmeritorious.

The Presidential Election Petitions Court also ruled that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was at liberty to decide the mode of transmission of election results during the presidential election on February 25, 2023.

The five-man panel led by Justice Haruna Tsammani said according to Sections 52 and 65 of the Electoral Act 2022, INEC was at liberty to prescribe the manner in which election results were transmitted during the poll.

The Tribunal consequently dismissed the petition of the Labour Party (LP) and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, which argued that the victory of President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) be annulled on the basis on the “failure” of the commission’s Results Viewing Portal (IReV) to upload election results electronically in real time.

The Tribunal also dismissed Obi and LP’s petitions on 25 per cent votes of Tinubu in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), saying that Abuja is like other states.

The court also said the petitioners – Obi and the LP — failed to prove that Tinubu was convicted for money laundering in the United States.

The Justice Tsammani panel ruled that no record of criminal arrest or conviction was established against Tinubu by the petitioners.