Peter Obi Formally Files Petition At Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal To Nullify Tinubu’s Victory [Download Court Paper]
The Labour Party (LP) and its presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, have formally filed a petition at the Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja, challenging the declaration of Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the winner of the February 25, 2023, presidential election.
The petition marked: CA/PEPC/03/2023, has the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC as the 1st respondent while Tinubu, his vice-president-elect, Kasheem Shetima and the APC are 2nd, 3rd and 4th respondents respectively.
The petitioners are claiming that at the time of the presidential election held on February 25, 2023 Tinubu and Shettima were not qualified to contest the election.
“That it be determined that all the votes recorded for the 2nd respondent in the election are wasted votes owing to the non- qualification/ disqualification of 2nd and 3rd respondents.
“That it be determined that on the basis of the remaining votes after discountenancing the votes credited to the 2nd and 3rd respondents, the 1st petitioner scored a majority of the lawful votes cast at the election and had not less than 25% 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.
“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”, the petitioners submitted.
They also argued that the election was invalid by reason of corrupt practices and non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022.
INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, had on March 1 declared Tinubu president-elect on grounds that his party scored majority of votes cast at the poll.
In the results announced, Tinubu polled 8,805,835 votes to emerge victorious.
Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) who came second scored 6,984,640 votes, while Obi scored 6,101,533 votes.
Besides seeking that he be declared winner of the election on grounds that he is the authentic winner of the presidential election, Obi in an alternative prayer asked the tribunal to cancel the entire election and ordered INEC to conduct a fresh poll in which Tinubu, Shettima, and the APC will not participate.
Similarly, the Action Alliance and the Allied Peoples Movement have equally lodged separate petitions to challenge the outcome of the presidential election.
While the petition by Action Alliance and its presidential candidate, Solomon Okanigbuan, was marked: CA/PEPC/01/2023, that of the Allied Peoples’ Movement, was marked: CA/PEPC/04/2023.
Click to download the court paper below
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XM4DvpZIX_vHHpi9Y1YdvlSzWrqzHxgZ/view?usp=sharing
