The Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) in Abuja has reserved its judgment on the petition filed by the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) seeking to nullify the election of President Bola Tinubu. The five-member panel, led by Justice Haruna Tsammani, scheduled the case for judgment after all parties presented their final arguments.
The defendants in the petition, marked CA/PEPC/04/2023, include the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), President Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, and Mr. Kabiru Masari. The petitioner, represented by Mr. Andrew Malgwi, SAN, urged the court to remove Tinubu from office and withdraw the Certificate of Return issued to him by INEC. On the other hand, all the defendants requested the court to dismiss the case for lack of competence.
President Tinubu, represented by Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, argued that the APM’s petition lacked merit. He contended that the allegation made by the party, which focused on Vice President Shettima’s multiple nominations for different elective positions by the APC, had already been decided by the Supreme Court. Tinubu maintained that the APM’s petition not only failed to establish a reasonable cause of action against him but was also devoid of substance.
The APC’s counsel, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, and INEC’s counsel, Mr. Steven Adehi, SAN, separately urged the court to dismiss the petition. The APC stated that Tinubu’s nomination and eligibility to contest the presidential election were without fault, while INEC supported the outcome of the poll.
Following the submissions of all parties, the panel led by Justice Tsammani stated that the judgment date would be communicated to them.
The APM concluded its case on July 21, after presenting a single witness before the court. In its petition, the APM argued that the withdrawal of Mr. Masari, initially nominated as the Vice-Presidential candidate of the APC, invalidated Tinubu’s candidacy in accordance with Section 131(c) and 142 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
The party contended that there was a three-week gap between Masari’s expression of intent to withdraw, the actual withdrawal of his nomination, and Tinubu’s purported replacement of him with Senator Kashim Shettima. The APM claimed that Tinubu’s candidacy had expired by the time he nominated Shettima as Masari’s replacement.
According to the petitioner, when Tinubu announced Shettima as the Vice-Presidential candidate, “he was no longer in a position, constitutionally, to nominate a running mate since he had ceased to be a presidential candidate of the APC, considering the provisions of section 142 of the 1999 Constitution.”
The APM further argued that Masari’s initial nomination activated the joint ticket principle outlined in the Constitution, and his subsequent withdrawal invalidated the joint ticket. The party requested the court to declare that Shettima was not qualified to contest as the Vice-Presidential candidate of the APC on February 25, the date of the election conducted by INEC, as it violated Section 35 of the Electoral Act, 2022.
The APM also sought an order nullifying and voiding all the votes received by Tinubu in the presidential election due to his disqualification as a candidate of the APC, as well as an order to set aside the Certificate of Return issued to the President by INEC.
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