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ABUJA – The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, have unequivocally rejected the recent judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC), describing it as illogical and not in alignment with the constitution and Electoral Act.
This National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, stated this in a statement released on September 6, 2023, in Abuja.
The PEPC, convened at the Court of Appeal, Abuja, unanimously ruled against the petition filed by Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, along with their parties, asserting that it lacked merit.
The tribunal upheld Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s victory in the February 25, 2023, presidential election.
Ologunagba stated, “The PDP, as a law-abiding political party, will thoroughly review the judgment with our legal team and determine the next course of action within the confines of the law.
‘We call on Nigerians to remain vigilant, calm, and united as we continue our efforts to defend democracy and uphold the people’s will expressed in the February 25, 2023, presidential election.”
Also, the Legal Adviser to the Labour Party, Kehinde Edun, expressed dissatisfaction with the judgment and pledged to challenge it at the Supreme Court.
The five-member tribunal, led by Justice Haruna Tsammani, dismissed Atiku’s petition on September 6, 2023, affirming Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the duly elected President of Nigeria.
The tribunal ruled that the petition lacked merit and ordered the parties to bear their respective costs.
The LP’s National Legal Adviser, Edun, criticized the tribunal’s decision to reject ten out of thirteen witnesses and expressed concerns about the judgment’s fairness, particularly regarding the timing of witness statements.
Edun said, “We anticipate that the Supreme Court will be the ultimate arbiter in this matter. Some aspects of the judgment are unacceptable to us, and we are eager to see how the Supreme Court judges will address these issues, not only for the present, but also for the sake of our legal system’s future.”
In an earlier ruling on Obi and LP’s petition, Justice Tsammani stated that the petitioners failed to substantiate their allegations and did not provide specific details of alleged irregularities in the election.
The tribunal noted that despite claims of rigging in 18,088 polling units nationwide, the petitioners failed to identify the locations of these units.
The tribunal also found no proof of the alleged fictitious results recorded by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in favour of Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC).
