Tribunal: “We reject the outcome of the judgment in its entirety”- LP

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The leadership of the Labour Party has vowed never to accept the judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, PEPT that dismissed the petitions of Peter Obi, its candidate, against the victory of President Bola Tinubu in the February 25 polls.

The PEPT led by Justice Haruna Tsammani Wednesday, dismissed all petitions of the Labour Party and it’s candidate after its petitions were dismissed by the five-member panel led by Justice Haruna Tsammani.

According to the tribunal, the petitions filed by the LP lawyers were ‘clearly based on rhetoric.’

One of the claims made by the petitioners was the nullification of the declaration of Tinubu as the winner of the election for failing to score 25 percent of votes cast in the FCT- a claim to which the Tribunal described as “fallacious,” holding that the FCT is not superior to any other state in the country and as such, is not treated specially in the election.

The court said, “With due respect to counsel to the petitioners, their interpretation of the provision of the constitution, as regards the 25 percent in Abuja, is fallacious if not completely ludicrous.”

The petitioners had also challenged Tinubu’s competence to contest the election following his forfeiture of $460,000 in the United States in 1993.

In lieu of this, the court ruled that the LP failed to prove that Tinubu was arraigned or took a plea or was sentenced or fined in any criminal suit in the US regarding the forfeiture of the said asset.

The petitioners had also argued that the failure of the Independent National Electoral Commission to transmit results to INEC election results viewer among others, was a proof of irregularities that suspectedly engulfed the 2023 elections.

However, reacting to the tribunals’ verdict on Wednesday, the National Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party, Obiora Ifoh, swore that the party will not accept the outcome of the judgment.

Obiora, While urging all their supporters to remain calm, said that they would consult with their lawyers before the party could make its position known on the next step to take.

He said, “The Labour Party watched with dismay and trepidation the dismissal of petitions by the five-man panel of the Presidential Election Petition Court led by Justice Haruna Tsammani today and we reject the outcome of the judgment in its entirety because justice was not served and it did not reflect the law and the desire of the people.

“Nigerians were witnesses to the electoral robbery that took place on February 25, 2023, which was globally condemned but the Tribunal in its wisdom refused to accept the obvious. What is at stake is democracy and we will not relent until the people will prevail.

“We salute the doggedness of our team of lawyers who fearlessly exposed the wrath in our system. We can only weep for democracy in Nigeria but we refuse to give up on Nigeria. Details of the party’s position will be presented after consultation with our lawyers after the Certified True Copy of the judgement is made available to us. We urge all lovers of democracy to remain focused and hopeful because a new Nigeria is possible.”