1st August, 2023
By Wandoo Sombo
Alhaji Abubakar Atiku, the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) Presidential candidate, is at the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC), as parties prepared to adopt their final written speeches.
The acceptance of final addresses is the first step towards scheduling a hearing date in Atiku and the PDP’s appeal disputing the outcome of the presidential election on February 25.
On the penultimate delayed date, the court’s five-member panel led by Justice Haruna Tsammani asked parties to submit their final briefs of argument and appear before it to adopt.
In a notice to the parties, the court requested them to adopt their written address with regard to the suit filed against President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima, pleading their immediate removal from office.
On March 1, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) the winner of the presidential election, beating out 17 other candidates.
It was announced that Tinubu received 8,794,726 votes, defeating the two major competitors, Atiku of the Peoples Democratic Party, who received 6,984,520 votes, and Mr. Peter Obi of the Labour Party, who received 6,101,533 votes.
However, displeased with the election’s outcome, both Atiku and Obi petitioned the court to declare it invalid.
They claimed to have won the presidential election while questioning Tinubu’s ability to run, in separate petitions.
The petitioners are asking the court to declare the election null and void and to hold a new presidential election without President Tinubu, who they claim is ineligible from the start.
NAN