Summary:
- Former Vice President of Nigeria Peter Obi and the Labor Party have filed a five-point petition against President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s win.
- The petition sent to the Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja says that Tinubu and Vice President-elect Shettima Kashim did not meet the requirements to run for office.
- It wants all votes for the two to be thrown out and asks for a new election in which they cannot run.
(MandyNews.com) – Former Nigerian Vice President Peter Obi has filed a petition against the recent presidential election victory of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, seeking five prayers that could potentially upend the outcome and reshape Nigerian politics. The petition was submitted to the Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja just before midnight on Tuesday.
Obi’s petition was joined by the Labour Party. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), President-elect Tinubu, Vice President-elect Shettima Kashim, and the All Progressives Congress (APC) are all named as respondents in the petition.
When MandyNews.com first wrote about the filing, we didn’t say what the specific prayers were. The following is a summary of the five prayers sought by Obi and the Labor Party:
- Disqualification of Tinubu and Shettima: Obi has asked the Presidential Election Petition Court to rule that Tinubu and Shettima were not qualified to run for president in the election on February 25, 2023.
- All votes for Tinubu and Shettima should be thrown out: Obi also asked the tribunal to decide that all votes for Tinubu should be thrown out because the president-elect and vice president-elect are said to be unqualified.
- Failure to achieve 25% of votes in FCT: Obi wants it decided that Tinubu wasn’t allowed to be president because he didn’t get 25% of the votes in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, to be declared and returned as the winner of the presidential election held on February 25, 2023.
- Ordering a fresh election barring Tinubu and Shettima from participating: Obi urged the tribunal to make an order canceling the election and compelling INEC, as the first respondent, to conduct a new election in which Tinubu, Shettima, and the APC would not be allowed to participate.
If the petition is accepted, it could have a big effect on Nigeria’s politics and could even make the recent presidential election invalid. Even though we don’t know how the Presidential Election Petition Court will rule on these issues yet, this change has put Nigeria’s political future under a lot of scrutiny.
As the country waits for the court’s decision, you can feel the tension between the two sides. Nigerians and people from other countries are keeping a close eye on this case because it will ultimately decide how the country will be led and governed for the next few years.
It’s important to remember that filing a petition doesn’t mean the petitioners will get what they want. Before making a decision, the court will carefully look at all of the evidence and arguments that have been presented.
Still, Peter Obi and the Labour Party’s bold move shows how important it is for a democratic society to deal with possible election problems and how important it is for the judiciary to keep the rule of law.
Part of this article was culled from Premium Times Nigeria.
