The Presidential Election Petitions Court delivered a 12-hour marathon judgement on Wednesday, throwing out the petitions of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM); the petitions of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its flag bearer, Atiku Abubakar; as well as the petitions of Labour Party (LP) and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
The Tribunal dismissed the petitions of the three parties challenging the victory of President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the February 25, 2023 poll. The five-man panel led by Justice Haruna Tsammani not only dismissed the consolidated petitions of the PDP, the APM, and the LP, but it also clearly affirmed the victory of Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State, in the presidential poll.
Justice Tsammani 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.” After much anticipation, the Tribunal delivered its judgment at the Court of Appeal in Abuja, a proceeding that was televised live from 9 a.m. to minutes past 9 p.m.
Some of the notable persons present at the proceeding crowded by Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) include Vice-President Kashim Shettima of the APC, Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila; and LP’s Julius Abure, among others. Significantly, Obi and Atiku who had observed previous proceedings of the Tribunal, were not in court on Wednesday. Tinubu was also not in court as he is away in India for the G-20 summit.
The Tribunal first delivered its verdict on the petitions of the APM, followed by the LP and the PDP.
