By Deborah Onyofufeke, Abuja
The Action Peoples Party, APP, and it’s presidential candidate, Simon Nnadi, on Wednesday, following in the steps of Action Alliance, AA, withdrew its petition against the president elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The party had filed a petition to challenge the declaration of Tinubu who emerged the president elect under the All Progressives Congress, APC, following the February 25 2023 presidential election.
In it’s petition marked CA/Abj/PEPC/02/2023, APP contested the result of the presidential election on the grounds of irregularities, while it also alleged mutilation of the election result and on this note requested that Tinubu’s declaration by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, be nullified.
However, at today’s proceedings, APP lawyer, Obed Agwu, informed the five member panel of the Presidential Election Petition Court, PREPC, sitting in Abuja, of the decision of the petitioners to withdraw their petition.
He said the withdrawal notice, which was filed on May 9, was predicated on Paragraph 29(1)(2) and (3) of the Schedule for Election Petitions. He urged the court to strike out the petition.
Counsel to the President-elect, Chief Wole Olanipenkun, SAN, responding to Agwu’s decision said he was not opposed to theapplication.
While he commended their decision he added that they hope that more will still come.
Also, the APC counsel Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, and INEC lead counsel, Abubakar Mahmoud also did not oppose APP’s application.
They urged those whose petitions against the outcome of the presidential election are still pending before the court to emulate the APP.
After it had listened to all the parties, the Justice Haruna Tsammani led panel dismissed the petition.
“Having listened to all the parties, we are satisfied that there is no collusion. The petition having been withdrawn, it is hereby dismissed,” the court held.
APP is the second political party to withdraw its petition abruptly since the PEPC commenced sitting. Neither of these two parties have given any reasons as to why they decided to withdraw their petition against the respondents.
