Lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria Dr. Livy Uzoukwu has spoken out in response to a call by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for Peter Obi of the Labour Party not to be included in a potential election rerun, as Nigerians continue to watch proceedings at the ongoing Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in the nation’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT).While adopting their Final Written Address on Tuesday, August 1,Tinubu’s attorneys urged the five-man panel of Tribunal Justices to exclude the Labour Party and its candidate, Peter Obi, from an election rerun. Wole Olanipekun (SAN), the President’s Lead Counsel, contended that only the top two vote-getters should participate in a repeat election, and not the candidate who came in third.
However, Obi’s Lead Counsel, Dr. Livy Uzoukwu, stated to reporters outside the courtroom that the APC’s appeal to the tribunal is strictly a Constitutional question that should be left to the interpretation of the Appeal Court Justices. The Senior Advocate went even farther, saying his staff had done everything they could have to get a good ruling for the Labour Party.
He said, “You know that’s a constitutional matter, and we’ve talked about it enough already. So, it is for the court to decide. We offered numerous supporting arguments.
The court’s decision will stand as final. However, what really matters is that we made a strong and persuasive case”.
