Why Peter Obi’s petition against Tinubu is incompetent – Tribunal
On Wednesday in Abuja, the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal ruled that the petition of the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Gregory Obi was totally y incompetent and defective beyond repairs.
The Tribunal in a ruling made lots of objections against the petition and struck out several paragraphs of the petition describing them as being vague, incompetent, inconsistent, nebulous and self contradictory.
In the ruling delivered by Justice Abba Mohammed, Obi’s petition was stated to have raised several general allegations of malpractices, irregularities, corruption without any specific as required by law.
ALSO READ: Tribunal dismisses Atiku’s dual citizenship petition against Tinubu
The Tribunal stated that while Obi claimed to have scored the highest number of lawful votes in the February 25 presidential election, he did not completely disclose the number of the lawful votes he alleged to have won.
According to Justice Mohammed, to make matters worse, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate asked for report of forensic experts but did not file the report along with the petition or serve same on the respondents in the petition.
He also stated that the former Anambra governor’s claim that his votes were suppressed in favour of Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC, was not clear as Obi did not dole out any figure of votes to establish the claim.
Also, the allegation that the votes of Tinubu were inflated cannot stand as Obi did not disclose the number of the votes dashed to Tinubu.
Speaking on the issue of corruption, the tribunal explained: “The Law is very clear that where someone alleged irregularities in a particular polling unit, as in the instant petition, such a person must prove the particular irregularities in that poling unit for him to succeed in his petition”.
The tribunal also dismissed Obi’s claim of securing 25% votes in FCT
According to the tribunal, winning 25% of votes in the FCT isn’t compulsory to win a presidential election.
in the judgement read by Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani, chairman of the tribunal chairman, the ruled that FCT doesn’t enjoy special status and, therefore, is equal to every other state in Nigeria.
The tribunal made it clear that the constitution allows every Nigerian equal rights, and such rights extend to voting, hence, votes cast in the FCT don’t carry extra status compared to those cast in other states of the federation.
GbaramatuVoice writes that this development put paid to the former Anambra governors’ desire for the tribunal to overturn his election defeat against Tinubu.
However, as of the time of filing this report, GbaramatuVoice writes that the Labour Party had rejected the judgement of the tribunal sayin g that it does not reflect the wishes of the people.
Support Quality Journalism in the Niger Delta Region
Join us in our mission to bring development journalism, cultural preservation, and environmental awareness to the forefront. Your contribution makes a difference in the lives of the people of the Niger Delta. Donate today and be a part of the change!
