President Bola Tinubu has petitioned the Supreme Court to reject an appeal made by the 2023 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, aimed at nullifying his election victory.
In a comprehensive 42-page document presented by a team of 17 lawyers, including 10 Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Tinubu urged the apex court to uphold the Court of Appeal’s decision, which dismissed Atiku and the PDP’s joint petition against him.
Tinubu emphasized that he was duly elected by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), having secured 25% of the total votes in 29 states.
He argued that Atiku and the PDP only achieved this threshold in 21 states, falling short of the constitutional requirement.
He maintained that INEC had no choice but to declare him the winner due to his majority of lawful votes and fulfillment of constitutional criteria.
Tinubu criticized the allegations made by Atiku and the PDP, describing them as baseless and unsupported by facts.
He noted that the allegations lacked specificity and relied on vague and nebulous claims, such as discrepancies in academic qualifications and non-compliance with electoral procedures.
Additionally, Tinubu pointed out that Atiku’s witnesses did not front-load their statements with the petition, making it evident that their intent was not to prosecute a legitimate petition but to create suspense and confusion.
The President urged the Supreme Court to dismiss Atiku’s appeal as lacking in merit and to uphold his election.
He emphasized that Atiku’s alternative request for a run-off election revealed their underlying belief in his own victory and accused them of abusing the legal process.
The appeal is marked as SC/CV/935/2023, with INEC, Tinubu, and the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the 1st to 3rd Respondents.
As of now, no specific date has been set for the commencement of the Supreme Court’s proceedings on the presidential dispute.
