The Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC, on Wednesday, dismissed a petition filed by the Allied Peoples Movement, APM, seeking the nullification of the election of President Bola Tinubu.
Delivering judgment, Chairman Justice Haruna Tsammani said that the suit lacked merit.
The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) in a a petition marked CA/PEPC/04/ challenging the outcome of the Feb 25 presidential election was also heard.
The respondents are the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC), Action Progressives Congress (APC), Sen. Bola Tinubu, Sen.Kashim Shettima and Kabir Madari.
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According to the APM, Tinubu and Shettima were not qualified to contest the election on the grounds of the alleged double nomination of the vice president-elect.
The judgment was delivered by Justice Haruna Tsammani the chairman of the 5 member panel.
The court held that the issue of qualification or disqualification is the issue that should go to the Federal high court and not to the election court.
The court held that these issues ought to have been taken at the pre-hearing session.
” The petitioners have no locus standi to challenge the nomination of a candidate by his party.
The court held that if a party chooses to nominate a candidate after meeting with the party’s constitution it is not the problem of another party.
” In as much as it follows the stipulations of sections 131 and 137 of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended ”
The court said the issue of the double nomination had not been proved by the petitioners.
It held further that the 3rd respondent, Shettima earlier withdrew his nomination as the Senator representing Borno central senatorial district.
The court therefore dismissed the petition for lacking in merit.
The panel stressed that though all three cases challenging President Tinubu’s election were consolidated, the petitions will however maintain their separate identities. (NAN)
