Dismiss Three Opposition Parties’ Petitions Against Me — Tinubu Begs Tribunal

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The All Progressives Congress (APC) and Bola Tinubu has asked the Presidential Election Petitions Court (PEPC) to dismiss petitions filed by three opposition parties challenging his victory in the February 25 election.

NAN reports that the APC called on the tribunal to discountenance the petitions in three separate responses filed at PEPC’s Secretariat, Sunday night by Thomas Ojo, a member of the party’s legal team led by Lateef Fagbemi, in Abuja.

The three political parties: Action People’s Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA) and Allied Peoples Movement (APM), had, in separate petitions, challenged the emergence of Tinubu as Nigeria’s President-elect.

AA, in the petition, sued the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Tinubu, APC and Hamza Al-Mustapha, its factional presidential candidate and former CSO to late General Sani Abacha.

APM, in its petition, joined Tinubu, Kashim Shettima, INEC, APC and Kabir Masari, who stood as a vice-presidential placeholder during the primaries before he was substituted with Shettima.

APP dragged INEC, APC and Tinubu to court as respondents.

In the suits, marked CA/PEPC/01/2023, CA/PEPC/04/2023 and CA/PEPC/02/2023, AA, APM and APP are respectively challenging the result of the presidential poll on the grounds of alleged substantial non-compliance with the electoral laws of Nigeria, as well as the INEC guidelines.

Responding, the APC faulted the claims by the political parties.

Meanwhile, the presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar and his Labour Party (LP) ‘s counterpart, Peter Obi, are also challenging the election outcome.

Tinubu and Shettima, the Vice-President-elect, are, however, within time to respond to all the petitions by the political parties.

However, based on provisions of the law, a respondent has twenty-one days to reply to a petition after a service.