ABUJA, Nigeria—The Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC, on Wednesday, September 6, 2023, has ruled against the petition filed by the All Progressives Congress, APC, questioning the legitimacy of Peter Obi’s membership in the Labour Party, LP.
The ruling, read by Justice Abba Mohammed, deemed the petition incompetent and stated that membership in a political party is an internal matter.
Generic Allegations Unproven
Justice Mohammed also scrutinized the Labour Party’s claims of widespread irregularities during the presidential election held on February 25, 2023.
He noted that the party had failed to provide specific details about the alleged irregularities.
“In a presidential election held in 176,866 polling units across 774 local government areas, it would be improper not to specify where there were irregularities,” Justice Mohammed said. The Tribunal emphasized that proof is required for each polling unit where irregularities are alleged.
Tribunal Dismisses Other Petitions
Earlier in the day, the Tribunal also dismissed a petition from the Allied Peoples Movement, APM, and its candidate, Princess ChiChi Ojei.
The petition had sought the cancellation of the declaration of Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the APC as the presidential election winner.
The Tribunal found the petition to be “incompetent” and “without merit,” summarily dismissing it.
Anticipation Builds for Further Rulings
The Tribunal will also review a petition by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, who came in second place in the presidential race with 6,984,520 votes, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
INEC had previously declared Tinubu the winner of the election with a total of 8.8 million votes.
Peter Obi of the LP was not far behind Atiku with a total of 6,101,533 votes, making the election a closely contested affair among the three major candidates.
Implications for Nigerian Democracy
Today’s rulings underline the rigorous standards that must be met in challenging election outcomes in Nigeria.
They also highlight the complex and highly political nature of these cases, involving not just the candidates but their political parties as well.
