The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, and his party have made good their threat to challenge the February 25 presidential election, which saw the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declare Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of the All Progressive Congress (APC) as the winner.
The petitioners are challenging the declaration on grounds of substantial non-compliance with relevant laws. Atiku in the petition filed by his team of lawyers led by Joe-Kyari Gadzama (SAN), asked the Court to declare him winner or in the alternative order a rerun between him and Tinubu or have the entire election nullified and a fresh one conducted.
Listed as respondents in the petition marked CA/PEPC/05/2023 are INEC, Tinubu and his party, APC.
Atiku and the PDP are contesting the election on four grounds:
“The election of the 2nd respondent (Tinubu) is invalid by reason of noncompliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022.
“The election of the 2nd respondent is invalid by reason of corrupt practices.
“The 2nd respondent was not duly elected by majority of lawful votes cast at the election.
“The 2nd respondent was, at the time of the election, not qualified to contest the election.”
Atiku and the PDP are praying the court for the following:
“That it may be determined that the 2nd respondent was not duly elected by the majority of lawful votes cast in the election and therefore the declaration and return of the 2nd respondent by the 1st respondent as the winner of the presidential election conducted on February 25, 2023 is unlawful, wrongful, unconstitutional, undue, null and void and of no effect whatsoever.
“That it may be determined that the return of the 2nd respondent by the 1st respondent was wrongful, unlawful, undue, null and void having not satisfied the requirements of the Electoral Act 2022 and the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended), which mandatorily requires the 2nd respondent to score not less than one quarter (25 per cent) of the lawful votes cast at the election in each of at least two-thirds of all the states in the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
“That it may be determined that the 2nd respondent was, at the time of the election, not qualified to contest the said election. “That it may be determined that the 1st petitioner having scored the majority of lawful votes cast at the Presidential election of Saturday, February 25, 2023 be returned as the winner of the election and be sworn in as the duly elected President of Nigeria.
In the alternative, “an order directing the 1st respondent to conduct a second election (run-off) between the 1st petitioner and the 2nd respondent.”
In further alternative, “that the election to the office of the President of Nigeria held on February 25, 2023 be nullified and a fresh election (re-run) ordered.”
The petitioners held that failure of the 1st respondent to electronically transmit the result meant that the election was not conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022, and other extant laws.
They argued that the non-compliance substantially affected the result of the election, in that the 2nd respondent ought not to have been declared or returned as the winner of the election.
