Nigerians looked forward to the 2023 Presidential elections with so much hope and enthusiasm. It was as though some respected magician had whispered into everyone’s ears that a miracle would happen and they would all be free from the bondage that has held the largest black nation back many decades. The elections held on the 25th of February 2023 as scheduled but the results did not meet the expectations of many Nigerians. The candidate of the Labour party, Peter Obi, who had a massive youth following in the lead up to the election was predicted by several polls to win but the elections which was marred with various irregularities did not go the way of the polls; that is from the results announced by the Independent National Election Commission (INEC).
To this end, Peter Obi and the Labour Party have submitted a petition to the presidential election tribunal contesting the declaration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the President-elect. Their petition has four respondents; INEC, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Kashim Shettima and the All Progressives Party (APC).
This petition is based on three grounds;
- That Bola Ahmed Tinubu was at the time of the election not qualified to contest the elections. On this ground they referred to the fact that his running mate was not qualified to be nominated as Vice-Presidential candidate since he was already a Senatorial candidate for Borno Central Constituency. Another point here is the issue of the Drug case in the US with documents showing Tinubu had to forfeit $460,000 for an offence involving dishonesty.
- That the election of Bola Ahmed Tinubu was invalid by reason of corrupt practices or non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022. This is where they made a case about INEC not following all the rules it itemized using BVAS and iREV. They also mentioned certain States as case studies; Rivers, Lagos, Taraba, Benue, Adamawa, Imo, Bauchi, Borno, Kaduna and Plateau States.
3. That Bola Ahmed Tinubu was not duly elected by majority of the lawful votes cast at the election. Here they base their petition on Sections 133 and 134 of the 1999 Constitution. Their argument I think is if the process did not go as ordained by law as questioned in the second ground of their petition, the candidate of the APC would not have lawfully gained highest number of votes and even if he did, he did not meet the stipulation of section 134 which is to get at least 25% of votes cast in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Peter Obi is therefore asking the court for the following (what they call prayers):
- That it be determined that at the time of the Presidential Election held on 25th February, 2023, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Kashim Shettima were not qualified to contest the election.
- That it be determined that Bola Ahmed Tinubu having failed to score one-quarter of the votes cast in the FCT was not entitled to be declared and returned as the winner.
- Alternative to the second prayer, an order canceling the election and compelling INEC to conduct a fresh election at which Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Kashim Shettima and APC shall not participate
- Another alternative to the above is that it may be determined that Tinubu was not duly elected by a majority of the lawful votes cast in the election and so the certificate of return issued is null and void
- In the further alternative to prayers, 1, 2, 3 and 4 above, that the presidential election of 25th February 2023 is void on the ground that the election was not conducted substantially in accordance to the provisions of the electoral Act 2022 and Nigeria’s constitution, so should be cancelled and fresh elections conducted.
