Izuchukwu E.N
In The court today, Mr Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) Presidential Candidate, and his party have petitioned the Election Tribunal to annul the process that produced Sen. Bola Tinubu as President-elect.
In a petition dated March 20 and stamped CA/PEPC/03/2023, Obi and his party demanded that the presidential election on February 25 be declared invalid because Tinubu was not the legitimate victor.
The petition’s signatories include the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Senator Bola Tinubu, Senator Shettima Kashim, and the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman of INEC, declared Tinubu the winner of the Feb. 25 presidential election after he received a majority of votes cast.
According to Yakubu, Tinubu met the constitutional benchmark of scoring 25 per cent in two thirds of 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory according to INEC.
Not satisfied with the outcome of the election, the petitioners are approaching the tribunal to seek redress.
They said that it be determined that based on the valid votes cast at the Presidential election of 25 February, 2023, the 1st Petitioner scored the highest number of votes cast at the election .
And not less than one quarter of the votes cast at the election in each of at least two-thirds of all the States in the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and ought to be declared and returned as the winner of the Presidential election.
He therefore, sought an Order directing the 1st Respondent to issue the Certificate of Return to the 1st Petitioner as the duly elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
That it be determined that the Certificate of Return wrongly issued to the 2nd Respondent by the 1st Respondent is null and void and be set aside.
An order that the Presidential election conducted on 25th February 2023 is void on the ground that the election was not conducted substantially in accordance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 and Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended.
An Order further cancelling the’ Presidential Election conducted o 25th February 2023 and mandating the 1st Respondent to conduct fresh election for the office of President, the Federal Republic Nigeria.
The petitioners alleged glitches in the electronic system installed and managed by the 1st Respondent were a ploy invented to credit unlawful votes to the 2nd respondent
He added thereby, to wipe out the clear advantage which inured to the Petitioners following the lawful exercise of voting rights by the electorate.
The Petitioners shall rely on the results obtained from the iREV portal as wel] as other copies of the Forms EC8A to establish that substantial votes were unlawfully credited to the 2nd respondent.
The Petitioners avered that they shall equally rely on numerous Press Statements made by and credited to the leadership of the 1stRespondent in an attempt to explain the process which led to the crediting of massive unlawful votes to the 2nd Respondent.
The petitioners averred that at the trial, the will rely on all the Investigation, Forensic, Expert and other Reports and spread sheets referred to/pleaded in the Petition, which are hereby incorporated as part of the Petition.
The petitioners avered that at the trial, they shall rely on all Respondent’s electoral materials and all other necessary documents used for the conduct of the Presidential election. (NAN)
