The Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC, in a landmark decision, yesterday, dismissed the petitions of the Labour Party, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and the Allied Peoples Movement, APM, and their candidates against the election of President Bola Tinubu.

The five-man panel, led by Justice Haruna Tsammani, dismissed the petition of Mr Peter Obi of LP seeking to nullify Tinubu’s election.

It also dismissed APM’s petition seeking to disqualify the president over the invalid nomination of his running mate, Senate Kashim Shettima.

Obi’s petition dismissed

The PEPC, dismissed the allegation of the Labour Party, LP, and its candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, that the 2023 presidential election was rigged in favour of President Bola Tinubu.

The court, in its preliminary ruling that was delivered by Justice Abba Mohammed, held that Obi and the LP did not by way of credible evidence, establish their allegation that the February 25 election was characterized by manifest corrupt practices.

It held that though the petitioners alleged that the election was marred by irregularities, they, however, failed to give specific details of where the alleged infractions took place.

The court noted that whereas Obi and the LP insisted that the election was rigged in 18, 088 polling units across the federation, they were unable to state the locations of the said polling units.

It further held that Obi’s allegation that fictitious results were recorded for President Tinubu and the APC, by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, was not proved.

More so, it held that the petitioners were unable to state the figures they claimed were reduced from election results they garnered in different states of the federation, especially in Ondo, Oyo, Rivers, Yobe, Borno, Tabara, Osun and Lagos state.

It held that the Petitioners equally failed to state the polling units where over-voting occurred or the exact figures of unlawful votes that were credited to Tinubu by the INEC.

It stressed that though Obi and LP said they would rely on spreadsheets as well as forensic reports and expert analysis of their expert witnesses, they failed to attach the documents to the petition or serve the same on the Respondents as required by the law.

The court held that though the petition contained serious allegations that bordered on violence, non-voting, suppression of votes, fictitious entry of election results and corrupt practices, the petitioners failed to give particulars of specific polling units where the incidents took place.

It held that several portions of the petition that contained the allegations, were “vague, imprecise, nebulous and bereft of particular materials.”

Therefore, the court struck out paragraphs 9, 60, 61, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 76, 77, 78, 83 and 89 of the petition.

Obi validly nominated as LP candidate

Nevertheless, the court dismissed the contention of the Respondents that Obi was not validly nominated by the LP to contest the presidential election.

It noted that the Respondents had argued that Obi left the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on May 24, 2022 and joined the LP on May 27, 2022.

The Respondents argued that as at May 30, 2022, Obi was not a valid member of the LP and could not have duly participated in its presidential primary election.

They insisted that his name could not have been contained in the membership register of the LP, which ought to be submitted to INEC, 30 days before the primary election was held.

However, the court, in its ruling, held that the issue of membership is an internal affair of a political party, which is not justiciable.

It held that only the LP has the prerogative of determining who is its member, adding that the Respondents were bereft of the legal standing to query Obi’s membership of the LP.

Likewise, the court held that contrary to contention by Tinubu and the APC, the Petitioners, were not under any obligation to join Alhaji Atiku Abubakar who came second in the election or his party, the PDP, in the case.

It held that both Atiku and PDP are not statutory Respondents or necessary parties to the petition.

No evidence Tinubu was convicted in the US over drug trafficking
The PEPC also dismissed the allegation that President Tinubu was convicted in the United States of America, USA, on a drug trafficking-related charge.

The court, in its lead judgment in the joint petition filed by the LP Obi held that evidence before it established that the $460, 000 fine that was imposed on Tinubu in the US, was a civil matter.

It held that such a fine did not translate to a criminal conviction that was capable of warranting Tinubu’s disqualification from contesting the presidential election that was held on February 25.

Justice Haruna Tsammani, who led the five-member panel, held that a careful perusal of exhibits that were adduced before the court showed that the case that led to the fine that was awarded against President Tinubu, “was in the civil docket” of the court in the US.

He held that contrary to the contention of the Petitioners, the case was a civil forfeiture proceeding against funds that were in the bank and not an action that was against Tinubu as a person.

He described such civil forfeiture proceedings as a unique remedy that is targeted at a property and not the owner.

No criminal record against Tinubu in the US More so, the court held that Obi and the LP failed to show that Tinubu was indicted, arraigned, tried or convicted for any criminal offence in the USA.

The court further noted that following a letter the Inspector General of Police wrote in 2003, the American Embassy, confirmed that there was no criminal record against Tinubu in its centralized information center.

It held that both the letter from the IGP and the response from the US Embassy were public documents that are admissible in evidence.

The court maintained that the Petitioners did not produce any evidence to establish that Tinubu was tried and convicted for an offence involving dishonesty.

Besides, the court held that a period of 10 years had elapsed since the said fine was imposed against Tinubu, saying it, therefore, could not be a valid ground to seek his disqualification.

It accordingly dismissed that leg of the petition the LP and Obi filed to nullify President Tinubu’s election.

The Petitioners had among other things, challenged Tinubu’s eligibility to contest the presidential election, alleging that he was previously indicted and fined the sum of $460,000.00 by the United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, in Case No: 93C 4483, for an offence involving dishonesty and drug trafficking.

They contended that such indictment constituted a ground for disqualification under section 137 (1) (d) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

INEC can’t be forced transmit election results electronically

On the issue of INEC failing to transmit the presidential election results electronically real time on its result viewing portal, the tribunal said that the INEC was not mandated to send election results electronically.

Tsammani said: “There is no provision for the electronic transmission of election results in the Electoral Act 2022.”

On the mode of transmission of election results, the tribunal said INEC is at liberty to define the mode it intends to use.

“By the provision of Section 52 and Section 65 of the Electoral Act, INEC is at liberty to prescribe the manner in which results can be transmitted. INEC cannot be compelled to electronically transmit results,” the court held.

On 25% votes, Abuja not special than other states

The PEPT also held that scoring 25 percent of votes in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja was not compulsory for one to be declared winner because FCT has no special status over the other 36 states of the federation.

Peter Obi wan about 59 percent of the votes cast in the FCT, President Tinubu got 19 per cent and Atiku Abubakar scored 15 per cent.

Speaking on the requirement claims by the LP and Obi, the panel said that FCT residents have no special privileges as the petitioners claimed.

According to the PEPC, Section 134 (1) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended) stipulates that a presidential candidate must attain or score a majority of votes cast in a presidential election, where two or more candidates are involved, and at least 25% in two-thirds of the 36 States and FCT to meet the constitutional requirement to be declared as duly elected as President of Nigeria.

The tribunal said the petitioners’ interpretation of Section 134(2)(b) of the 1999 constitution is “completely fallacious, if not outright ridiculous.”

APM’s petition against Tinubu incompetent

The panel in its first ruling dismissed as incompetent, the case the Allied Peoples Movement, APM, filed to nullify President Tinubu’s election.

The court held that the issues the APM raised in its petition contained pre-election matters that could only be determined by the Federal High Court.

Chairman of the panel, Justice Haruna Tsammani, who read the ruling, upheld preliminary objections that all the Respondents raised to challenge the competence of the petition.

Justice Haruna noted that since the petition centered on the qualification or otherwise of President Tinubu to contest the presidential election that was held on February 25, the APM ought to have gone to court within 14 days after Tinubu was nominated by the APC.

He held that since the cause of action bordered on a pre-election matter, the APM, lacked the locus standi to challenge Tinubu’s nomination.

More so, Justice Tsammani held that the Supreme Court had earlier decided that a political party does not have the right to challenge a nomination that was made by another political party.

He held that section 131 and 237 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, made provisions for the qualification or disqualification of candidates in an election.

The court noted that the main grouse of the APM was on the alleged invalid nomination of Tinubu’s running mate, Kashim Shettima. 

“It is clear that the claim of qualification is non-qualification of the 3rd Respondent (Tinubu) centered on the alleged invalid nomination of the 4th Respondent (Shettima). It is a pre-election matter,” Justice Tsammani held.

He further held that section 84(3) of the Electoral Act, 2022, stipulated that political parties should not impose qualification criteria on a candidate, except as provided for in the constitution.

According to the court, sections 65, 66, 106, 107, 131, 137, 185 and 187 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, settled the issue of qualification and nomination of a candidate for an election.

It held that where an election had already been conducted and the result declared, the qualification of a candidate could no longer be challenged on the basis of sections 131 and 137 of the Constitution.

The court held that since the APM failed to challenge President Tinubu’s nomination within the constitutionally allowed period, its case, therefore, had become statute-barred.

It held that where the constitution has qualified a candidate for an election, no other law can disqualify such a candidate except the constitution itself.

The court held that the issue of double nomination as canvassed by the APM, was not a legally cognizable ground for disqualification.

Besides, the court held that it found no reason why Mr. Ibrahim Masari was cited as the 5th Respondent in the petition since he would not in any way be affected by the outcome of the case.

Consequently, it struck out his name from the petition.

The APM had in its petition marked: CA/PEPC/04/2023, argued that the withdrawal of Mr. Masari who was initially nominated as the Vice-Presidential candidate of the APC, invalidated Tinubu’s candidacy in view of Section 131(c) and 142 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

The party argued that there was a gap of about three weeks between the period that Masari, who was listed as the 5th Respondent in the petition, expressed intention to withdraw, the actual withdrawal of his purported nomination, and the time Tinubu purportedly replaced him with Senator Kashim Shettima.

It further argued that Tinubu’s candidature had elapsed at the time he nominated Shettima as Masari’s replacement.

According to the petitioner, at the time Tinubu announced Shettima as the Vice Presidential candidate, “he was no longer in a position, constitutionally, to nominate a running mate since he had ceased to be a presidential candidate of the 2nd Respondent having regards to the provisions of section 142 of the 1999 Constitution”.

The APM contended that Masari’s initial nomination activated the joint ticket principle enshrined in the Constitution, stressing that his subsequent withdrawal invalidated the said joint ticket.

A former Vice President and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has vowed to approach the Supreme Court to set aside the election of President Bola Tinubu.

Atiku, said he was dissatisfied with the judgement of the Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC, that affirmed President Tinubu as the valid winner of the presidential election held on February 25.

Speaking through his team of lawyers led by Chief Chris Uche, SAN, the PDP candidate, said he only got a judgement from the court and not justice.

“Judgement has just been delivered but we have not received justice. Luckily, the Constitution has given us the right to go on appeal.

“This is the court of first instance. We still have the right to go on appeal to the Supreme Court and you see, this is a struggle that is not just for our client, but for the Constitution of this country, for the rule of law and democracy.

“We were expecting an outcome that will improve, encourage the use of technology to enhance election management, to enhance transparency, to enhance accountability, so that Nigerians will believe in democracy.

“So that Nigerians can come out in their masses like they did, to vote. We don’t want Nigerians to be discouraged.

“There are certain things and principle of law that he know that we need to explore and we strongly believe that when we get to the Supreme Court, it will have the opportunity to review a number of things that have been said here today.

“We have the instruction of our client to go to the Supreme Court. So, we have asked for the records. We have asked for the judgement. We are going to apply for the transmission of the records because we have a very limited time to push this.

“So, the struggle continues and as it is said, it is not over until it is over,” Atiku’s lawyer added.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has welcomed the verdict of the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal, affirming him as the duly elected president of Nigeria.

The announcement, which came on Wednesday, saw the dismissal of petitions filed by presidential candidates of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, and that of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP, Atiku Abubakar, among others.

Recall that in a consolidated judgment, Justice Haruna Tsammani who led a five-man panel of the tribunal, dismissed the petitions for lack of merit.

The tribunal said Obi, Atiku and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), failed to prove allegations in their respective petitions seeking to overturn President Tinubu’s February 25, 2023, presidential victory.

Reacting to the verdict through his media adviser, Ajuri Ngelale, President Tinubu, who is currently attending the G20 Summit in India, lauded the five-man panel of the tribunal led by Justice Haruna Tsammani for being thorough and professional.

“The President affirms that his commitment to the rule of law, and the unhindered discharge of duties by the Tribunal, as witnessed in the panel’s exclusive respect for the merits of the petitions brought forward, further reflects the continuing maturation of Nigeria’s legal system, and the advancement of Africa’s largest democracy at a time when our democratic system of government is under test in other parts of the continent.

“The President believes the Presidential Candidates and Political Parties that have lawfully exercised their rights by participating in the 2023 general elections and the judicial process, which followed, have affirmed Nigeria’s democratic credentials.

” The President urges his valiant challengers to inspire their supporters in the trust that the spirit of patriotism will now and forever be elevated above partisan considerations, manifesting into support for our Government to improve the livelihood of all Nigerians,” read part of the statement.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has faulted ENI’s planned onshore asset divestment deal with Oando.

The National Oil Company said in a letter that its consent as a member of the joint venture member operating ENI’s onshore asset, was not obtained before the planned divestment to Oando.

This, the NNPCL stated, was against contract rules governing the joint venture operation, and could affect the deal.

In a letter to the Managing Director of Nigerian Agip Oil Company Ltd, dated September 4, the NNPCL said if the deal goes through, it would have far-reaching contractual/legal implications in relation to the joint Operating Agreement dated July 1991 governing the operations of the NAOC/NEPL/OOL Joint venture.

The letter was signed by Ali Muhammed Zarah, Managing Director of NNPC E&P Limited.

Recall that Italian oil major Eni issued a press release saying that it had signed an agreement with Oando, an energy solutions provider listed on both the Nigerian and Johannesburg Stock Exchange, for the sale of all its stake in Nigerian Agip Oil Company Ltd (NAOC Ltd), a wholly-owned subsidiary focusing on onshore oil & gas exploration and production in Nigeria, as well as power generation.

But the NNPC Ltd argued that by virtue of the agreement, a party seeking to transfer part or the whole of its participating interest in the Joint Venture is obligated to seek the prior written consent of the other parties, especially since it controls 60 percent of the stake.

The letter reads, “Clause 19.11 of the JOA provides that “No party may assign or transfer its interest or any part thereof without the prior written consent of the other parties, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld,”

“We have highlighted the above provisions of the JOA to underscore the point that the purported assignment, even if valid, should by no means translate to transfer of operatorship to OOL. if NAOC’s divestment turns out to be valid, it will be incumbent on NEPL and OOL to decide on a successor operator,”

The NNPC Ltd in the letter, said the failure to obtain the written consent of its NEPL, its subsidiary that handles upstream operations constituted a “grave breach of the terms of the JOA, and NEPL reserves its rights in relation to the said breach.

The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has congratulated President Bola Tinubu on his Victory at the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC).

Tinubu was on March 1, 2023, declared winner of the February 25 presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

But not satisfied with the outcome of the election, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic party (PDP) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) filed separate petitions at PEPC, challenging the declaration of Tinubu as the duly elected president of Nigeria.

However, in a consolidated judgment on Wednesday, Justice Haruna Tsammani who led a five-man panel of the tribunal, dismissed the petitions for lack of merit.

The tribunal said Obi, Atiku and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), failed to prove allegations in their respective petitions seeking to overturn the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate’s victory.

Reacting to the court verdict, Sanwo-Olu said now that the election and the results have been upheld by the court, he hopes that Atiku and Obi would do the needful.

According to him, Tinubu and members of the APC across the country worked very hard for their victory at the February poll, noting that today’s PEPC’s decision is an affirmation of the will of over eight million Nigerians who voted for Tinubu as their choice.

In a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Gboyega Akosile, which was made available to THE WHISTLER, Sanwo-Olu said Nigerians had spoken through the ballots and the court has also validated the citizens’ decision by today’s judicial pronouncements.

He said: “What we are witnessing today is the beauty of democracy and the rule of law. We had an election in February this year where over eight million Nigerians voted to elect Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“We ordinarily thought that the losers should have displayed the good spirit of sportsmanship by congratulating the winner (President Tinubu) but they chose to contest the election results, which is within their rights. Now that election and the results have been upheld by the Court. I hope they will do the needful.

“I congratulate the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu on his well-deserved victory at the Presidential Election Tribunal Court.

“I also congratulate the leadership and members of our great party, the All Progressives Congress, and all Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora on this very landmark judicial victory.”

Sanwo-Olu enjoined Nigerians across party divide to team up with the president to deliver the real dividends of democracy to Nigerians through the ‘Renewed Hope’ agenda of the incumbent administration, adding that Wednesday’s judicial verdict is a victory for democracy and the rule of law.

The Presidential Election Petition Court sitting in Abuja has described the People’s Democratic Party presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, as being “clever by half” in his petition seeking to upturn President Bola Tinubu’s victory.

Atiku and his party had urged the presidential tribunal to deduct “irregular votes” from the 2023 presidential election results declared in favour of President Tinubu by the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Yakubu Mahmood, in the 2023 election.

The PDP candidate had presented a statistician and forensic examiner, Samuel Oduntan, as part of his witnesses.

Oduntan claimed that he studied the polling unit results from across the federation, alongside 6 team members and discovered irregular votes across the states, including those won by the PDP.

But under cross-examination by Tinubu and Shettima’s lawyer, Wole Olanipekun SAN, the witness admitted that he did not attach pictorial samples of any of the INEC forms he referred to in his report.

Justice Boloukuoromo Moses Ugo declared that Atiku’s assertions are “vague” as the reports by his witness did not state the actual votes he scored and the affected polling units in dispute.

The judge ruled that the petitioners were “clever by half” because they never gave any credible details on Tinubu’s alleged non-qualification.

The National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has reacted to the outcome of petitions challenging President Bola Tinubu’s victory at the presidential election petitions tribunal.

The tribunal affirmed President Tinubu as the winner of Nigeria’s February 25 presidential poll.

Ganduje in a statement he personally signed hours after the tribunal’s verdict urged the Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, and the Labour Party (LP) candidate, Peter Obi, to accept the verdict

He described the judgement as thorough, having addressed all the issues raised by the petitioners.

The APC National Chairman described the verdict as an accurate representation of the presidential election, expressing confidence that President Tinubu’s administration will fulfil its electoral promises to revitalise the country and achieve desired growth and progress.

Ganduje further noted that the decision by the PDP and LP presidential candidates, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, to contest President Tinubu’s victory in the tribunal demonstrated their trust in the nation’s judicial system.

“I had no doubt whatsoever in my mind that the President would come out victorious, considering the massive support Nigerians gave him and our party the APC before and during the Presidential Election.

“May I also congratulate the Nigerian Judiciary for adjudicating on the issues arising from the presidential election without fear and favour by doing the right thing. With this judgment, a precedent has been set for electoral matters in the country.

“The judgement attests to the fact that the rule of law would always reign supreme and our hard-earned democracy would further continue to blossom beyond limits.

“For the opposition, I urge you to accept the verdict of the tribunal. There would always be another round of elections whereby you can test your popularity and acceptability from the electorates. Once more, I congratulate President Tinubu, our teeming supporters who stood by the party through thick and thin,” said Ganduje.

ONE of the founding members of ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Osita Okechukwu, has stated that as a Buharist that had experienced the pain of losing post-election litigations, he fully understood the grief of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP) and Allied Peoples Movement (APM) members at the outcome of the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC)’s judgment.

Okechukwu, who spoke to journalists in Abuja shortly after the PEPT delivered its judgment, noted that although the main opposition PDP had bright chances of bouncing back through the 2023 presidential election, the political greed of the party’s candidate, His Excellency Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, denied the party victory.

  He noted that while he sympathises with PDP, LP and APM, the petitioners, particularly supporters of PDP and LP should not blame the PEPC but His Excellency, Alhaji Atiku Abubukar, whose hubris and greed combined to deny them victory. 

  Okechukwu also noted that Atiku’s failure to rise to the golden opportunity and play as a statesman by throwing support for his erstwhile running mate Peter Obi or any other Southern presidential candidate divided the opposition party, adding, “Atiku dealt PDP a huge blow from which it might be difficult to recover.”

He dismissed claims that the petitioners had maintained that President Bola Tinubu was not qualified to run and allegations of irregularities in the conduct of the election as well as the failure to electronically transmit results in real time were fatal to the respondents’ case. 
“Those intricate webs could have been resolved if Atiku had obeyed the zoning convention, supported Peter Obi or any other Southern presidential candidate it could been simply an all southern bout. The Wike Masquerade couldn’t have emerged. That would have meant that the bulk of votes he garnered could have been credited to PDP. 
   “Atiku divided PDP’s votes irreparably, all the votes Labour Party garnered were from the party’s stronghold, minus voted warehoused by the former Vice President who naively forgot that northern voters are one of the most sophisticated in the country, but believed that northern electorate would behave like children in a dormitory waiting for directives on how to vote,” he declared.

Okechukwu, who is also the Director General of Voice of Nigeria (DG, VON), remarked that President Tinubu deserves accolades for rescuing the zoning convention which guarantees equity, and natural justice between the north and south.
   He stated: “First and foremost, let me congratulate President Tinubu, for rescuing the zoning convention, a ligament binding north and south from unprecedented assault.
   “To be honest, my take is that the opposition lost the election that day in 2022, when His Excellency, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar trampled on the presidential zoning convention, which governed the 4th Republic Nigeria and was also embedded in his party’s Constitution.

“Recall that Atiku earned accolades when he stormed out of PDP Convention in 2014 in protest that President Goodluck Jonathan was breaching the zoning convention. And, in 2018, Governor Nyesom Wike hosted PDP Convention in Port Harcourt and ensured that only northern presidential aspirants contested for the presidential ticket as a way of honouring the zoning convention.
   “So, it is obvious that when Atiku sacrificed statesmanship on the altar of narrow political ambition, one concluded that he had wittingly or unwittingly fatally wounded the fabric of PDP. And, going by the time worn cliché, a divided house cannot stand, Nigerians should recognise that Atiku by his greed denied PDP a possible victory.” 

On the way forward, the APC chieftain suggested the promulgation of a revised Electoral Act that will resolve all evident ambiguities, by enthroning mandatorily only electronic accreditation and transmission of results. 
“I subscribe to the idea that we should totally abolish manual collation of results and make electronic transmission of results mandatory. We also need to return to the popular Justice Uwais Handbook on Electoral Reform, which among other fine democratic tenets recommended how best to transparently recruit the INEC Chairman, Commissioners and sundry officials.

“With these altercations, Election Petitions will definitely be concluded before swearing-in of winners. Let us not forget that our democracy has witnessed tremendous advancement and keep in mind the fact that democracy is not a revolution, but a work in progress,” Okechukwu submitted.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Wednesday, has assured Nigerians of his renewed and energized focus on delivering his vision of a unified, peaceful and prosperous nation, following the judgment by the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja.

President Tinubu welcomes the judgment of the Tribubal with an intense sense of solemn responsibility and preparedness to serve all Nigerians, irrespective of all diverse political persuasions, faiths, and tribal identities.

The President recognizes the diligence, undaunted thoroughness, and professionalism of the five-member bench, led by Justice Haruna Tsammani in interpreting the law.

The President affirms that his commitment to the rule of law, and the unhindered discharge of duties by the Tribunal, as witnessed in the panel's exclusive respect for the merits of the petitions brought forward, further reflects the continuing maturation of Nigeria’s legal system, and the advancement of Africa's largest democracy at a time when our democratic system of government is under test in other parts of the continent.

The President believes the Presidential Candidates and Political Parties that have lawfully exercised their rights by participating in the 2023 general elections and the judicial process, which followed, have affirmed Nigeria’s democratic credentials.

The President urges his valiant challengers to inspire their supporters in the trust that the spirit of patriotism will now and forever be elevated above partisan considerations, manifesting into support for our Government to improve the livelihood of all Nigerians.

Once more, President Tinubu thanks Nigerians for the mandate given to him to serve our country while promising to meet and exceed their expectations, by the grace of God Almighty, and through very diligent hard work with the team that has been put in place for that sole purpose.

Chief Ajuri Ngelale

Special Adviser to the President

(Media & Publicity)

September 6, 2023

The Social Democratic Party (SDP) presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Adewole Adebayo has urged the Labour Party (LP) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidates, Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar respectively to concede defeat at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal.

He called on both Atiku and Obi to congratulate President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Speaking on Wednesday regarding the ongoing judgement of the presidential tribunal in the suits challenging Tinubu’s victory in the February 25 elections as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Adebayo submitted that both Obi and Atiku presented weak petitions.

The SDP candidate hinted that he is not surprised about the turn of events unfolding at the tribunal.

Taking to the X platform, formely known as Twitter, Adebayo wrote: “I am not supposed to gloat that I told you so. Today’s judgments dismissing weak petitions are sound in fact and law, in substance, procedures, and conform to the Constitution, Electoral Act and established precedents.
@PeterObi, @atiku should congratulate @officialABAT.”