Vice-President Kashim Shettima reacts to ruling on APM suit at the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal in Abuja on Wednesday, September 6, 2023.
PEPC dismisses APM’s petition against Tinubu, Shettima
The Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) has struck out the Allied Peoples Movement petitions against President Bola Tinubu and his Vice President, Kashim Shettima, for lack of merit.
The PEPC dismissed and described APM’s case filed to nullify Tinubu’s election as “incompetent”.
The court held that issues raised by the APM in its petition contained pre-election matters that could only be determined by the Federal High Court.
The Chairman of the panel, Justice Haruna Tsammani, who read the lead judgement, held that an invalid nomination or double nomination did not qualify as a ground for disqualification in respect of the presidential election as provided in sections 131 and 137 of the constitution.
He also held that Mr Ibrahim Masari, who was nominated as a placeholder by the APC (for the position of the Vice President), was not a necessary party to the petition because he was neither a candidate nor did he win the election.
The court further added that Masari was not a necessary party as no claim was raised against him by the petitioner, ruling against the APM’s petition on the issue of double nomination and being a placeholder.
