APA – Lagos (Nigeria)
The Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) has dismissed the petitions filed by the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr Peter Obi, that of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) against the declaration of Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the February presidential election.
The Tribunal, which sat for over 12 hours on Wednesday in Abuja, described the petitions as lacking in merits.
The Tribunal, headed by Justice Haruna Tsammani, said: “The petitions are hereby dismissed. I hereby affirm the declaration of Tinubu by the Independent National Electoral Ccommission (INEC) as the duly elected President of Nigeria.”
The Tribunal held that one of the issues ought to have been raised before the lower court, adding that even if it was to be heard by the PEPC, the issue was statute barred.
Justice Tsammani also held that the petitioner lacked the locus standi to have brought the petition, because the law did not allow a political party to query the process adopted by another political party in nominating its candidate.
According to local media reports on Thursday, the Tribunal held that invalid nomination or double nomination did not qualify as a ground for disqualification in respect of presidential election as provided in sections 131 and 137 of the Constitutional.
In the case of LP and Obi, the panel held that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) cannot be compelled to transmit election results electronically.
It further held that the petitioner, LP cannot raise the issue because a judgment of a Federal High Court on the issue has not been set aside, therefore the decision is still binding.
Justice Tsammani said besides the decision of the Federal High Court, neither the Electoral Act 2022 nor INEC manual specifically provided for electronic transmission.
“Nothing in the Electoral Act 2022 specifically states that BVAS should be used to transmit election results,” he said.
The court also held that the petitioner failed to prove that the system was deliberately programmed by INEC to manipulate or to rig the election.
On the qualification of Tinubu to contest the election, the court held that the fine imposed on Tinubu by an American court following a civil forfeiture proceeding did not disqualify him.
According to the Tribunal, the fine imposed by the American court did not qualify as a fine for fraud or dishonesty provided in Section 137(1)(d) of the Constitution.
It added that the petitioners did not comply with the requirement of Section 249(1) and (2) of the Evidence Act in proving conviction outside the country.
The Tribunal also dismissed the argument about the 25 per cent requirement in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) needed to win the presidential election. According to the court, FCT residents have no special privileges as the petitioners claimed.
Following the dismissal of the petitions, the Labour Party and the Peoples Democratic Party have indicated their interest to appeal the judgment in the Supreme Court.
GIK/APA