Presidential Election: Court moves to consolidate Obi, Atiku, APM’s petitions

CHIGOZIE IKPO, Abuja

The Presidential Election Petition Court, sitting in Abuja, has disclosed its intention to consolidate the three different petitions that are seeking to nullify the outcome of the 2023 presidential election.

The Five-member panel of the tribunal led by Justice Haruna Tsammani told parties that its decision is in line with l Paragraph 50 of the First Schedule to the Electoral Act, to merge all the petitions and determine them together.

The Paragraph states: “Where two or more petitions are presented in relation to the same

election or return, all the petitions shall be consolidated, considered and be dealt with as one petition unless the tribunal or court shall otherwise direct in order to do justice or an objection against one or more of the petitions has been upheld by the tribunal or court.”

Chief Chris Uche, (SAN), representing Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), pleaded the court for time to consult his client.

“My lords, we will not say that we have not looked at it, but perhaps it may require consultation with the other petitioners.

“We, therefore, ask for a stand down or an adjournment so that we can explore the modalities since this is like a marriage which is a union between two consenting adults,” Uche, SAN, added.

On its part, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) through its counsel, A. B. Mahmood (SAN) threw its weight behind the planned consolidation of the petitions.

However, Mr. Roland Otaru, SAN, who appeared on behalf of the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and the Vice President-elect, Senator Kashim Shettima, said he would need time to consult.

“My lords, I will need to consult Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, who is the lead counsel in this matter,” he pleaded.

Justice Tsammani directed parties to consult and report to the court regarding issues for consolidation before the next adjourned date.

Atiku who came second in the February 25 elections with 6,984,640 votes is asking the court to nullify Tinubu’s victory having contravened the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022.

In the same vein, the Labour Party (LP) candidate, Mr. Peter Obi is challenging the outcome of the election, saying that Tinubu failed to meet up with the required 25% of valid votes in the FCT as required by the Electoral Act, among other grounds.

Atiku’s joint petition with the PDP, was marked CA/PEPC/05/2023, that of Obi and the LP was registered as CA/PEPC/03/2023.

However, aside from Atiku and Obi, another petition by the Allied Peoples Movement, APM, is still pending before the court.

The APM, in its petition marked: CA/PEPC/04/2023, that the withdrawal of Mr. Ibrahim Masari who was initially nominated as the Vice-Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, invalidated Tinubu’s candidacy in view of Section 131(c) and 142 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

The party argued that there was a gap of about three weeks between the period that Masari, who was listed as the 5th Respondent in the petition, expressed intention to withdraw, the actual withdrawal of his purported nomination, and the time Tinubu purportedly replaced him with Senator Kashim Shettima.

It further argued that Tinubu’s candidature had elapsed as at the time he nominated Shettima as Masari’s replacement.

Even though five petitions were initially filed to challenge the return of Tinubu as winner of the election, however, the Action Alliance, AA, on May 8, withdrew its case, even as the Action Peoples Party, APP, followed suit two days later by also discontinuing further proceedings on its own petition.

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