Election tribunal affirms Tinubu’s victory; Tinubu vows to unite Nigeria after ruling; LP rejects tribunal judgement

The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal has in a unanimous judgment delivered on Wednesday, September 6, 2023, dismissed the petition filed by the Labour Party’s Peter Obi and the Peoples Democratic Party’s Atiku Abubakar and upheld the election of Bola Tinubu as President of Nigeria.

Justice Haruna Tsammani, leader of the five-person panel, said, “This petition accordingly lacks merit. I affirm the return of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the duly elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The parties are to bear their cost.”

In its judgment, the tribunal said that the petitioners had failed to prove their case beyond reasonable doubt. The judges said the irregularities observed during the polls were insufficient to invalidate the outcome.

Obi and Atiku filed the petition against Tinubu on March 8, 2023 alleging widespread irregularities in the election, including vote-buying, ballot box stuffing, and the disenfranchisement of voters.

The tribunal said the petition by the Labour Pary was “clearly based on rhetoric” and that the petitioners failed to provide evidence to support their claims.

The Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal has struck out some aspects of the petitions presented by the People Democratic Party’s presidential candidate in the February polls, Atiku Abubakar. ⁣

The struck-out portions include those in which the PDP claimed that Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress was unqualified to contest the last presidential election.⁣

However, the Presidential Election Petitions Court has declared that it lacks the powers to hear the petition of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) challenging the qualification.

The tribunal heard the petition over six months. During the hearing, the petitioners presented evidence of the alleged irregularities. However, the respondents, including Tinubu, presented evidence to show that the abnormalities did not affect the election outcome.

Meanwhile,the Labour Party (LP) has rejected the judgments of the Presidential Election Petitions Court in the party’s petitions challenging the electoral victory of President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the February 25, 2023 poll.

In a statement after the verdict of the Tribunal on Wednesday, LP’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, said justice was not served in the petitions of the party against the APC and Tinubu.

He also said the Labour Party will make its next move known upon consultation with its lawyers after receiving the Certified True Copy of the judgments.

The party said the judgment of the court “did not reflect the law and the desire of the people”.

“Nigerians were witnesses to the electoral robbery that took place on February 25, 2023, which was globally condemned but the Tribunal in its wisdom refused to accept the obvious,” the statement partly read.

“What is at stake is democracy and we will not relent until the people will prevail.

“We salute the doggedness of our team of lawyers who fearlessly exposed the wrath in our system. We can only weep for democracy in Nigeria but we refuse to give up on Nigeria.

“Details of the party’s position will be presented after consultation with our lawyers after the Certified True Copy of the judgment is made available to us.”

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Wednesday, hailed the judgement of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal and called on all Nigerians to join hands in building a new Nigeria.

The statement came on the heels of the unanimous judgement by the tribunal, which dismissed the petitions filed against his declaration as the winner of the February 25 Presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC)

In a statement signed by Ajuri Ngelale, the Presidential Spokesman, the President assured Nigerians of his renewed and energized focus on delivering his vision of a unified, peaceful and prosperous nation.

President Tinubu also welcomed the judgment of the Tribunal with an intense sense of solemn responsibility and preparedness to serve all Nigerians, irrespective of all diverse political persuasions, faiths, and tribal identities.

While recognizing the diligence, undaunted thoroughness, and professionalism of the five-member bench led by Justice Haruna Tsammani in interpreting the law, the President also affirmed his commitment to the rule of law.