ABUJA, Nigeria – On Wednesday, July 5, 2023, at the continuation of the hearing of petitions in the Presidential Election Petition Court, President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima presented a membership register of the Labour Party, LP, for Anambra State in an attempt to prove that Peter Obi was not a registered member of the LP during the 2023 presidential election.
In the response to the petition filed by Peter Obi and the Labour Party, Tinubu and Shettima’s legal team argued that Obi’s alleged lack of membership in the LP at the time of the election should disqualify him from having contested in the presidential election on the party’s platform.
Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), the counsel representing President Tinubu and Vice President Shettima, tendered the membership register alongside a letter from the Labour Party which forwarded the membership register to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
The legal team representing Peter Obi and the Labour Party, led by Livy Uzoukwu, objected to the admissibility of the documents. However, the court admitted the documents into evidence and labeled them as Exhibits RA17 and RA18.
This development adds another layer of complexity to the ongoing legal tussle over the results of the 2023 presidential election.
Peter Obi and the Labour Party had previously filed a petition challenging the victory of President Bola Tinubu.
This case has garnered significant public attention, as Nigerians await the court’s final decision on the legitimacy and legality of the candidates’ participation and the outcome of the presidential election.
The case has been adjourned to a later date for further hearing.
