The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal on Wednesday is expected to rule on seven issues levelled against President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday.
Baring any unforseen circumstances, the long-awaited verdict of the tribunal will be delivered today, 6th September 2023.
The Tribunal will rule on the petitions filed by the Labour Party and its presidential candidate Peter Obi, and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Atiku Abubakar challenging the election of President Bola Tinubu today in Abuja.
Recall that the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Mahmood Yakubu, had on March 1 declared Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress as the president-elect.
Yakubu had stated that the APC candidate polled 8.8 million to defeat Atiku of PDP, who he said scored 6.9 million, the LP candidate, Obi, who he allocated 6.1 million, and 15 other candidates.
However, five of the 18 political parties that participated in the elections challenged the outcome of the polls.
Besides the PDP and the LP, other aggrieved parties included the Action Alliance, Action People’s Party, and the Allied Peoples Movement.
However, the Tribunal had struck out some of the petitions after the Petitioners had withdrawn their petitions living PDP, LP, and one other petition.
Both Atiku and Obi individually asked the court to either declare them the winner of the election or order a fresh poll. Should the court choose to order a fresh election, they prayed that Mr Tinubu and his party, the APC, should be barred from participating in it.
The APM did not claim to have won the election. Its petition, anchored on the sole ground of alleged double nomination of Mr Tinubu’s running mate and present-day Vice President, Kashim Shettima, sought the cancellation of APC’s votes and declaration of Atiku the winner of the poll.
The tribunal is expected to rule on the following issues:
1. Twenty-five percent of votes in the FCT
2. Alleged manipulation of results, overvoting
3. Delay in electronic transmission of results
4. Alleged double nomination
5. Alleged perjury on age, dual citizenship
6. Alleged forged certificate
7. Alleged drug conviction
WATCH THE LIVE UPDATE OF THE TRIBUNAL VERDICT HERE
