INEC has approached the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal to defend the outcome of the 2023 general election that produced Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Kashim Shettima as president-elect and vice president-elect, respectively. INEC urged the tribunal to dismiss the petition filed by Labour Party (LP) and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
The electoral body stated that Tinubu and Shettima were duly declared as elected and had met the constitutional requirements to be declared winners. Meanwhile, APC has asked the tribunal to dismiss the petition filed by LP and its presidential candidate against the emergence of Tinubu as president-elect in the February 25 presidential election.
The LP and Obi had dragged INEC, Tinubu, Shettima, and the APC to court as respondents. The petitioners seek the nullification of the election of Tinubu and Shettima, alleging rigging in eleven states. However, INEC, APC, and Tinubu have rejected these claims, stating that the election was conducted according to the law.
In the petition filed by Obi and LP’s lead counsel, Livy Ozoukwu, they contended that Tinubu “was not duly elected by the majority of the lawful votes cast at the time of the election”. They claimed that INEC violated its own regulations when it announced the result despite the fact that at the time of the announcement, the totality of the polling unit results had yet to be fully scanned, uploaded, and transmitted electronically as required by the Electoral Act.
APC has asked the court to dismiss the suit on the ground that Mr Obi lacked requisite “locus standi” to institute the petition because he was not a member of LP at least 30 days to the party’s presidential primary to be validly sponsored by the party. APC argued that Obi was not a member of LP at the time of his alleged sponsorship.
In conclusion, the 2023 Presidential Poll has generated controversies from different quarters. INEC and APC have urged the tribunal to dismiss the petition filed by LP and Obi, stating that the election was conducted according to the law.