President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has secured a major victory at the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal (PEPT), as the judges dismissed all the petitions filed by Peter Obi and the Labour Party challenging his election in the February 25th presidential poll.
The tribunal, led by Justice Simon Tsammani, ruled that the petitioners failed to prove their allegations of electoral malpractice, fraud, and non- compliance with the Electoral Act, 2022. The tribunal also upheld the validity of Tinubu’ s candidacy and his clearance of drug- related charges in the United States, PUNCH reports.
The PEPT delivered its judgment on Wednesday, September 6, 2023, after hearing the arguments of the parties for several months. The tribunal dismissed the petition of Peter Obi and the Labour Party on four grounds:
The petitioners could not establish their assertion that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) must electronically transfer presidential election results. The tribunal held that INEC is free to choose its method of transmitting results and that there is no provision in the Electoral Act, 2022 that mandates electronic transmission.
The petitioners could not prove that Tinubu did not score the majority of the lawful votes cast in the election. The tribunal stated that the petitioners must present two sets of results: the one they alleged is the lawful result and the one they are challenging. However, the petitioners failed to do so and only relied on hearsay and speculation.
The petitioners could not substantiate their claim that glitches recorded by INEC resulting in its inability to upload presidential result was deliberately done to manipulate the result. The tribunal noted that the petitioners did not provide any evidence to show that INEC officials or agents of Tinubu tampered with the result transmission or collation process.
The petitioners failed to substantiate their fraud allegations against Tinubu, which were rooted in his purported connection to drug- related offenses in the United States. The tribunal upheld that a US court had acquitted Tinubu of all accusations in 2021 and that he satisfied all the constitutional prerequisites to run for the presidency.
The tribunal also ruled that Abuja is not special and 25% in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is not necessary to emerge as President. The tribunal explained that Abuja is part of Nigeria and that Tinubu satisfied the constitutional requirement of scoring at least 25% of votes cast in two- thirds of all the states in Nigeria.
The judgment of the tribunal has put an end to the legal battle over the 2023 presidential election and confirmed Tinubu as the duly elected President of Nigeria. Peter Obi and the Labour Party have not yet reacted to the judgment of the tribunal. They have 21 days to appeal to the Supreme Court if they are dissatisfied with the verdict.
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