(From left): Ayo Fayose and Peter Obi
Fayose, Onanuga blast Obi over petition at Presidential Elections Tribunal
Barely hours after filing a petition at the Presidential Elections Tribunal (PET) in Abuja, the former governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose and the Spokesperson of the Bola Tinubu Campaign Organisation, Bayo Onanuga have doubled down on the candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the February 25 election, Peter Obi.
Peter Obi had, Tuesday morning, officially submitted a petition before the PET challenging the declaration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Tinubu by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as winner of the February 25 Presidential election and President-elect.
Chief Spokesperson for the Labour Party- Presidential Campaign Council (LP- PCC), Dr Yunusa Tanko, who confirmed the development in a terse statement, Tuesday morning, added that the process by Obi and the party to reclaim their mandate has started.
“It is official the Labor Party Presidential candidate Peter OBI has filed his petition to the presidential elections tribunal in Abuja. The process of reclaiming the people’s mandate has started,” Yunusa said.
Obi’s prayers before the PET include the reliefs that the court should annul the elections and order the conduct of a fresh presidential poll.
Obi’s legal team, as petitioners, led by Livy Ozoukwu (SAN) also prayed the court to hold that “at the time of the presidential election held on 25 February 2023,” Messrs Tinubu and Shettima “were not qualified to contest the election.“
The petitioners equally want the court to hold that the 2nd respondent (Tinubu) having failed to score one-quarter of the votes cast at the Presidential Election in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, was not entitled to be declared and returned as the winner of the presidential election held on 25 February 2023.
Also, the petitioner is seeking “An order cancelling the election and compelling the 1st respondent (INEC) to conduct a fresh election at which the 2nd Respondent (Tinubu), 3rd respondent (Shettima) and 4th respondent (APC) shall not participate.”
Obi also asked the tribunal to determine that all the votes recorded for Tinubu in the election are wasted votes, owing to the non-qualification of the president-elect and Mr Shettima, as he argued that Tinubu at the time of the election was not qualified to contest the election.
However, barely hours after the petition, Fayose and Onanuga blasted the Labour Party candidate, Obi over what they called ‘attempting to re-enact the June 12 episode of 30 years ago, when former Head of StatePresident, General Ibrahim Babangida annulled the June 12 election won by now late Chief Moshood Abiola.
According to Fayose, ‘anyone who thinks they can unseat the President-elect, Bola Tinubu is simply putting themselves through a nightmare.’
Writing via his social media handle, Fayose said ‘such individuals are simply day dreaming as the elections had come and gone.’
“I am not desperate for an appointment. I have been governor twice. I am contented but for anybody to say he will unseat Ahmed Bola Tinubu, you are daydreaming. It is a nightmare you are putting yourself through. That election has come and gone,” Fayose said.
On his part, Onanuga accused Obi of trying to deal President-elect Bola Tinubu the same hand retired military dictator, General Babangida (IBB), dealt MKO Abiola.
The media aide to the president-elect, claimed that Mr Obi’s move to challenge the outcome of the 2023 presidential election, could be viewed in the same way that the 1993 election of MKO Abiola was invalidated by IBB.
“Peter Obi of Labour Party seeks the annulment of the election of President-elect Bola Tinubu just like the military annulled MKO Abiola’s election of 12 June 1993,” tweeted Onanuga, Tuesday evening, however, adding that: “Team Tinubu will certainly meet you (Obi) in court.”
