On Wednesday, the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) filed their complaint at the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) in Abuja to challenge President Bola Tinubu’s election.
According to reports, Aisha Abubakar, the party’s Assistant Welfare Director and the lone witness, submitted seven sets of documented evidence to back their position that Tinubu was unqualified to run for president in 2023.
Notably, all the respondents, including the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), President Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, the All Progressives Congress (APC), and Mr. Ibrahim Masari, did not oppose the admission of the documents. The Justice Haruna Tsammani-led five-member panel accepted the evidence as exhibits.
Earlier, the APM had declined to withdraw its petition against President Tinubu’s election despite the Supreme Court’s judgment on a related matter raised by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The court had suspended proceedings on May 30 after Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, counsel to President Tinubu, cited the Supreme Court’s decision, which he believed addressed the substance of APM’s petition regarding the legality of his client’s nomination by the APC.
Nevertheless, the petitioner, represented by lawyer Mr. Gideon Idiagbonya, expressed readiness to pursue the case against Tinubu. During the recent proceedings, the party submitted exhibits through the witness, including documents related to Masari’s nomination as Tinubu’s running mate.
Before the witness concluded her testimony, APC’s lead counsel, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, presented a copy of the Supreme Court judgment through her, which the respondents argued had already settled the issue raised by APM.
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The panel led by Justice Tsammani delayed the case until July 14, allowing the parties to present their final briefs of argument. Following that, the court will set a date for the delivery of its judgment.
The APM argued in their petition, CA/PEPC/04/2023, that the withdrawal of Mr. Masari, who had been nominated as the APC’s Vice-Presidential candidate, rendered Tinubu’s candidacy unlawful under Sections 131(c) and 142 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended. The party contended that because there was a three-week gap between Masari’s desire to withdraw, his actual withdrawal of his nomination, and Tinubu’s supposed replacement with Senator Kashim Shettima, Tinubu’s candidacy expired at the time of the replacement.