The dust raised by the declaration of Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress as the winner of the 25 February 2023 presidential election by the Independent Electoral Commission appears to be settling as the dispute is gradually moving from the noisy protestations on the streets and social media to the serene atmosphere of the courtroom for judicial review.
More specifically, Obi alleged that Tinubu was not qualified to contest the election because he had been indicted in a drug case in the United States around 1992 and that the APC ticket had been rendered invalid by the alleged double nomination of the running mate, Kashim Shettima. He also contended that the failure of the declared winner to score 25 per cent of the votes in the FCT, Abuja vitiated that declaration.
Now, the first and second runner-ups want the declaration annulled by the court. Curiously, both are claiming victory, telling the court to do justice to their cases. For some moments their claims energised their supporters who saw in them a ray of hope that what they lost on 25 February could still be found in the courtroom. But Tinubu and INEC are damping that hope with their robust reply to the twosome petitions, saying they not only lack merit but that they are also frivolous.
According to him, “The declaration and return of the second respondent [Tinubu] was not wrongful and was made in accordance with the provisions of Section 134 of the Constitution, the second respondent having scored one quarter of the valid votes cast in 29 states which are beyond the constitutional threshold for such declaration.”
The party said in its preliminary objection filed by Thomas Ojo from the chambers of Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, “The 1st Petitioner[Obi] herein resigned his membership of the PDP on May 26, 2022, and joined the Labour Party the following day being May 27, 2022. The 2nd Petitioner [LP] herein conducted its Presidential Primary on May 30, 2022, which produced the 1st Petitioner [Obi] as the candidate it intended to sponsor in the General Election.
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