The tribunal observed that while the petitioners failed to give particulars of malpractices in their petitions, the evidence of the few witnesses called could not be relied upon as they had not witnessed the alleged acts of irregularities or corrupt practices.
On the issue of electronic transmission of results, the panel reiterated its earlier position that the Electoral Act did not make provisions for electronic transmission of election results, adding that IReV is not a part of the collation process. It was the position of the court that several facts fundamentally required to support the petition were not provided by Atiku.
Similarly, the tribunal said that the former vice president made grievous allegations against Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, and the chairman of Olamaboro Local Government Area of Kogi, Friday Adejoh, but neglected to join them as respondents in the petition. He said it was because they were not filed along with the petition as of the close of the 21 days within which the petitioners must file their case.
Obi was a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party before he joined Labour Party for the February 25 presidential election. The court held that the fine imposed by the US court did not qualify as a fine for fraud or dishonesty provided in Section 137 of the Constitution. The court held that since the petition centred on the qualification or otherwise of President Tinubu to contest the presidential election, the APM ought to have gone to court within 14 days after Tinubu was nominated by the All Progressives Congress, APC.
The court noted that the main grouse of the APM was on the alleged invalid nomination of Tinubu’s running mate, Kashim Shettima. It held that where an election had already been conducted and the result declared, the qualification of a candidate could no longer be challenged on the basis of sections 131 and 137 of the Constitution.
The PDP, in a statement issued by its spokesman, Debo Ologunagba, said as a party, it had an initial review of the judgment as delivered by the PEPC and unequivocally rejected the said judgement in its entirety. He recognised the diligence, undaunted thoroughness, and professionalism of the five-member bench, led by Justice Haruna Tsammani in interpreting the law.
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