Tinubu’s Victory: Supreme Court hears appeals filed by Atiku, Obi, APM
By Matthew Atungwu
Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi’s petitions against the Presidential victory Petition Court’s ruling upholding President Bola Tinubu’s victory will be heard by a seven-member Supreme Court panel today.
The panel, whose members have not yet been revealed, will consider appeals from Peter Obi of the Labour Party, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), which is contesting the election of Mr. Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Atiku and Mr. Obi were found to have not provided sufficient evidence to support their individual allegations of widespread electoral malpractices committed by Nigeria’s electoral body, INEC, during the conduct of the 25 February presidential election, according to the Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja, presided over by Haruna Tsammani.
The court also dismissed another petition filed by the APM on the ground that the suit was lacking in merit.
Atiku, Mr Obi and the APM all filed separate appeals to challenge the decision of the court.
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The issues raised in the appeals include the eligibility of President Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima’s candidacy for the election.
The appellants also raised the issue of Mr Tinubu’s inability to secure 25 percent of valid votes cast in Abuja during the polls.
They are also contesting INEC’s failure to electronically transmit polling unit results to its Results Viewing (IReV) portal in real-time and allegations of vote manipulation in favour of Mr Tinubu.
Another key bone of contention before the seven-member panel of the Supreme Court is Mr Tinubu’s academic records which were obtained from the Chicago State University (CSU) in October by Atiku.
Atiku has already filed the president’s educational documents before the court, urging it to examine the authenticity of Mr Tinubu’s academic records from CSU.
However, Mr Tinubu’s lead lawyer, Wole Olanipekun, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), in court filings said Atiku and Mr Obi’s appeals lack substance.
