The All
Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC) issued statements on Monday, stating that the petition filed by
Labour
Party (LP) presidential candidate Peter Obi before the Election Tribunal has no
merit. The APC and the commission called for the election tribunal to dismiss
Obi’s petition, claiming that it is a waste of time.
The LP and
Obi are contesting the victory of President-elect Bola Tinubu in the
presidential election held on February 25, 2023. They have raised objections on
various grounds, including alleged ineligibility and noncompliance.
In their
separate responses submitted before the Presidential Election Petition Court
(PEPC) on Monday, the APC and INEC urged the court to reject the petition as
unmeritorious.
The APC’s
response, filed at the PEPC secretariat in Abuja by Thomas Ojo, a member of the
party’s legal team led by Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), faulted the petition on various
grounds. The APC argued that Obi was not a valid member of the LP at the time
of the election and that Atiku Abubakar and his party were excluded from the
petition.
The APC
challenged the petition’s competence on the basis that Obi was a member of the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) until May 24, 2022, when he was screened as the
party’s presidential aspirant in April 2023. The APC contended that Obi
participated in PDP’s screening exercise and was cleared to contest the
presidential election as an aspirant.
The APC
further argued that Obi resigned his membership of the PDP on May 26, 2022, and
joined the Labour Party on May 27, 2022. However, the Labour Party conducted
its presidential primary on May 30, 2022, which contravened Section 77(3) of
the Electoral Act, making it impossible for Obi to contest the primary election
as a member of the LP.
According to
the APC, the Labour Party was mandated to submit its comprehensive register of
members to INEC 30 days before its presidential primary, which should have been
on or before April 30, 2022. However, as of April 30, 2022, Obi was still a
member of the PDP, and his name was not on the register of members submitted by
the Labour Party to INEC.
The APC also
raised concerns about the exclusion of Atiku Abubakar and his party from the
petition, given that Obi and the Labour Party had admitted that the PDP
candidate came second in the election. The APC argued that it would amount to a
violation of Atiku’s right to a fair hearing if the court granted Obi’s relief
to declare him the winner and void Atiku’s votes without hearing him.
INEC, on the
other hand, argued that it conducted the election in full compliance with
relevant laws, contrary to Obi and his party’s claim. INEC challenged the
petitioners to provide evidence to prove their claims.
