All eyes will be at the Supreme Court on Monday, as hearings on appeal against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s victory in the February 25, 2023 presidential election by the main challengers, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi who were candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP) respectively begins.
Tinubu polled 8.8 million votes to defeat Atiku and Peter Obi, who scored 6.9 million and 6.1 million, respectively, to win Nigeria’s February 25 presidential election.
However, Atiku and Obi who are the former Lagos governor’s closest challengers among the 18 candidates on the ballot had rejected the results as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission, vowing to challenge it in court.
They were joined by the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) which did not make any appreciable impact in the election but want the result to be annulled over claims that the running mate of the APC presidential candidate, Kashim Shetimma was not validly nominated.
Consequently, the three parties had approached the Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC, seeking for the nullification of the victory of Tinubu in the presidential election.
However, the PEPC, dismissed the three petitions and affirmed the victory of the President in a unanimous judgment delivered on September 6.
The court held that the three petitioners failed to prove their assertions that the election that produced President Tinubu was marred with malpractices or claim that he was not qualified to contest the election.
However, in the appeals to be heard at the apex court on Monday, Atiku, Obi and the APM are challenging the PEPC judgement.
The two candidates had asked the apex court to set aside the PEPT ruling and nullify Tinubu’s election.
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Atiku hinged his appeal against the PEPC judgment on 35 grounds while Obi faulted the September 6 judgment on 51 grounds.
The apex court will also hear the appeal by the APM.
In addition, the Supreme Court will also hear a motion by Atiku seeking to bring fresh evidence to prove that Tinubu submitted a forged certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to contest the election.
Atiku had sought to tender the academic records of Tinubu, handed over to him by the Chicago State University on Monday, October 2 on the order of Judge Nancy Maldonado of the District Court of Illinois, Eastern Division, Illinois, United States of America.
Tinubu had in his response asked the apex court to reject the application by Atiku to introduce fresh evidence in his appeal of the PEPC judgment.
The President said Atiku’s application was alien to the pending appeal before the Supreme Court because it does not arise from the record or the judgment of the tribunal. The president had also asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the entire appeals filed by Obi, Atiku and APC against the September 6 PEPC judgment and instead, affirmed his victory in the February 25 election.
