Peter Obi files petition at Tribunal, challenges Tinubu’s victory

Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), has filed a petition at the presidential election tribunal challenging the victory of Bola Tinubu as president-elect.

Tinubu, the standard bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was declared the winner of the presidential election held on February 25.

Tinubu secured 8,794,726 votes, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had 6,984,520, and Obi polled 6,101,533.

Obi’s petition was filed early hours of Tuesday at the Abuja court of appeal which serves as the presidential election petition tribunal.

While Obi and the LP are the petitioners, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Tinubu, Shettima Kashim, the vice president-elect, and the APC are respondents.

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In the petition, Obi through his lawyer Livy Ozoukwu submitted that Tinubu “at the time of the (presidential) election was not qualified to contest the election”.

He further argued that the president-elect “was not duly elected by majority of the lawful votes cast at the time of the election”.

Consequently, the petitioners are asking the tribunal to determine that all the votes recorded for Tinubu in the election “are wasted votes, owing to the non-qualification” of the president-elect and Shettima.

“That it be determined that the 2nd respondent ( Tinubu) having failed to score one-quarter of the votes cast at the presidential election in the federal capital territory, Abuja was not entitled to be declared and returned as the winner of the presidential election held on 25 February 2023,” the petitioner said.

Also, the petitioners have asked the tribunal to make “an order cancelling the election and compelling the 1st respondent (INEC) to conduct a fresh election at which the 2nd respondent (Tinubu), 3rd respondent (Shettima) and 4th respondent (APC) shall not participate”.