Atiku, PDP adopt final address at PEPT, as court reserves judgement
Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) sitting at the Court of Appeal Headquarters in Abuja, Tuesday, reserved judgment in the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the February 25, 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar.
PDP and its co-petitioner are challenging the decision by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to declare candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu as the winner of the 2023 Presidential election, on March 1.
PEPT Chairman, Justice Haruna Tsamani gave the position after Atiku, who was present in the court, adopted his final address to the court.
The petitioners are alleging massive rigging and manipulation of election results, as well as, constitutional grounds of illegibility of Tinubu to contest or be declared winner based on criminal records of forfeiture, forged certificates, and not meeting the required 25 per cent of votes cast in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Atiku and PDP are among others, asking the court to disqualify President Tinubu, nullify the presidential election, and order a rerun of the election.
Lead Counsel to Atiku and PDP, Mr. Chris Uche SAN, while urging the court to grant the relief sought by his clients, submitted that the electoral umpire failed to deliver on the innovation it brought to the electoral system.
Uche noted that the burden now lies on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC to prove and explain why there was a technical glitch, which, according to him, gave room for manipulation of election results.
“The substantiality of noncompliance was what whatever created room for manipulation,” Uche argued in his response to the final addressed by the respondents earlier, last week.
Atiku, through his counsel, also urged the court to ‘accord value and weight on the objectivity of European Union (EU) Reports on the election,’ even as he informed the court that he relied on the mandatory acquisition of 25 percent of votes in FCT which Tinubu did not get in urging the court to give substantial justice ‘not on technically’ to the matter.
Earlier, in its response to Atiku and PDP’S petition, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) one of the respondents, said, ‘evidence in the court has shown the desire of the electoral body to conduct free, fair and credible elections in the country.’
INEC, through its lead counsel Abubakar Mahmoud, informed the court that the electoral umpire has demonstrated good intention to deliver credible polls through the use of technology, adding that
the petitioner (PDP, Atiku) failed to provide proof that there was human interference in the process of uploading and transmission of results.
Also, the APC candidate, and now President, Ahmed Tinubu have adopted their replies of objection against Atiku and PDP through their counsels Lateef Fagbemi SAN and Wole Olanipekum SAN.
The adoption of the addresses by Labour Party and its candidate, Mr Peter Obi by the PEPT took place earlier.
Justice Haruna Tsamani has announced that parties will be communicated on the date for the judgment.
