News
BREAKING: Tinubu loses! *Tribunal consolidates, Atiku, Obi’s cases *Gives August deadline
For ease and speedy conclusion, the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT), on Tuesday, dismissed the arguments of both Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC), and went ahead to consolidate the petitions of Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), challenging his victory as winner of the February 25 presidential election.
The tribunal headed by Justice Haruna Tsammani, had while stating on Monday that it was empowered by Paragraph 50 of the First Schedule to the Electoral Act, to merge all the petitions and determine them together, had given counsel for all the petitioners the permission to consult their clients and report back to it with the outcome of the meeting.
But, Akin Olujinmi (SAN), leading Tinubu’s team, had argued against the court’s move to consolidate the cases, saying: “My lords, the issue of justice should be a restraint on the power of this court to exercise its discretion in granting the order for consolidation.”
Maintaining that the petitioners did not only raise various issues against Tinubu, but were equally seeking different reliefs, he argued that provisions of the Electoral Act the court referred to, was not absolute, referred to in seeking to consolidate the cases, he said it was not mandatory to do so.
Hear him: “My lords, when the exercise of power is subject to limitation of some conditions, then it cannot be said that the exercise is mandatory. There are issues raised in one petition that are not there in others. The issues vary. The same goes for evidential issues that are based on pleadings that have been exchanged by parties in this case. We want to make it clear at this stage that it will be absolutely difficult for us to consent to consolidation of the petitions. I most humbly urge your lordships not to grant the consolidation.”
Echoing the arguments of Olujimi, lawyer to the APC, Charles Edosomwam (SAN), equally argued that consolidating the petitions would be against the interest justice, adding: “The justice factor is a major issue for consideration before your lordships can arrive at a just conclusion of these matters.
His words: “The grounds are different and the wide range of issues raised by parties are also different. The trial will be unwieldy and major issues before this court would be lost like a pin in a haystack. Moreover, it will be pragmatically impossible for the respondent to effectively defend the case. It is our position that the issue of justice cannot be sacrificed at the alter of convenience.”
While the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), stated that it had no position on the matter, neither proposing nor opposing, the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), the third party, also challenging Tinubu’s election, said it was not opposing the consolidation as well.
Three out of the five petitioners who had initially gone to court to challenge the victory of Tinune, whom INEC declared winner on March 1, are still in court, while the Action Alliance (AA), on May 8, withdrew its case, followed by the Action Peoples Party (APP), two days later on May 10.
The tribunal, which had earlier adjourned sitting till Tuesday, resumed with a pronouncement on the matter, saying that the petitions would be consolidated and heard side by side given the time constraint to hear and determine the petitions, and went ahead to fix May 30 to commence definite hearing of the petitions.
In its schedule, the tribunal, which is restricted to 180 days from the day of the announcement of results to conclude the case, which expires on September 16, 2023, said it would conclude all the cases, including that of the APM on August 8 with adoption of final written addresses.
To achieve this, it gave both Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of the LP, three weeks each to conclude their cases, with the former Governor of Anambra State, given August 5 deadline and Atiku, former Vice President, was handed down August 8 deadline for final adoption after which the judgment day will be announced.
The Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi says he is aware of some evil designs against himself and his supporters in the coming months.
The former Anambra State governor disclosed this in a statement released on his verified Twitter handle on Monday, May 29, 2023.
The release of the statement coincided with the inauguration of Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as Nigeria’s President at the Eagle Square in Abuja.
I am aware of some evil designs being hatched against me and my supporters in the coming months. Efforts will be made to taint my image. Campaigns of calumny are being perfected to defame my character and diminish my hard-earned integrity.
— Peter Obi (@PeterObi) May 28, 2023
See full statement:
For all Nigerians, this is a time for deep reflection. It is also a time to re-examine our assumptions, even as we reaffirm our hopes. Let us calmly review our aspirations, in order to recalibrate our expectations and pin down the causes of our missed opportunities and disappointments.
We stand at that critical moment in time when, as a people, we must collectively come to grips with the reality of our injured destiny as well as the reasons for that injury. It is for us to reassess our plight as a young democracy and identify clear pathways to a better and greater future for us all. As we await the verdict of the election tribunal, I urge all Nigerians to use this opportunity to renew their commitment to the Nigerian ideal. That ideal remains noble and worth every sacrifice we can make.
Nigeria remains our only patrimony and it is a patrimony we must protect, rather than violate. We have no other nation but this, so let us remain committed to rescuing and rebuilding it.
The judiciary is part of the democratic enterprise and a critical governance tool for determining the propriety of the decisions and actions of every citizen and every institution of state. To that extent, and for that reason, I urge everyone to treat it with the respect and dignity it deserves.
We expect that the Nigerian judiciary will use the election cases now before it to reaffirm its independence and integrity. It has to do so, for all our sakes and for itself.
Nigerians must, therefore, remain peaceful and law abiding. No matter the depth of anyone’s reservations about what is going on in the polity today, no matter the real and imagined provocations, and no matter the disagreement out there, we should remember that this will not last forever.
I remain committed, and untiring, in my determination to work with like-minded fellow Nigerians to end the curse of missed opportunities and squandered hope that has become our lot here.
I will never shrink from that original commitment, because I firmly believe that we must change from the present politics of criminality, and corruption, in order to make a new Nigeria possible.
I call on fellow Nigerians, especially the youths to remain steadfast, calm, patient, and peaceful. Our journey may be long and difficult but it is worth it in every way. Victory is assured.
We have to work together to move our beautiful country from corruption and criminality to a center of productivity rather than aimless consumption.
I am aware of some evil designs being hatched against me and my supporters in the coming months. Efforts will be made to taint my image. Campaigns of calumny are being perfected to defame my character and diminish my hard-earned integrity.
These schemes will aim at degrading our support base and confusing the public. But, no evil campaign will alter the substance of my character; nor diminish my patriotic commitment to a better Nigeria. It is about the future of our youths. it is about ending the Years of Locust.
In all of this, I thank Nigerians, our great party (LP) and the media. The latter, as the Fourth Estate of the realm, has remained a trusted ally.
This Estate must continue to guide our people on the immense promise of a future in a new Nigeria.
God bless Nigeria and protect the troops keeping us safe in this season of vaulting insecurity.
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria. –PO
Channels
James Faleke, lawmaker and Secretary of the now defunct All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APC-PCC), has revealed that President Bola Tinubu would unveil members of his cabinet within 60 days.
Channels Television, which quoted him as saying on Monday, at the inauguration of of Tinubu and Kashim Shettima as president and vice-president of Nigeria was underway at the Eagle Square in Abuja, said the President, would , unveil his cabinet as soon as possible.
Faleke, who promised that the new President would bring a different approach to power, was quoted as saying: “Of course, within 60 days, that’s what the law says. He can announce anytime but I just know he must do it within 60 days.”
Eradication of terrorism, waging war against corruption and battling the crippling poverty in Nigeria, would form the fulcrum of a new Nigeria President Bola Tinubu, says he would strive to put in place as his new government began hours ago after assuming the reins of power as the 16th President, after Muhammadu Buhari handed over to him at an elaborate ceremony at the Eagle Square, Abuja, on Monday.
Vowing to defend Nigeria from all forms of terror, as well as end extreme poverty in the country, Tinubu, told Nigerians: “I will do that through job creation and food security and end to extreme poverty. I will ensure that corruption is tacked by strenghtening anti-corruption agencies.”
He also promised that his administration would discourage corruption through the introduction of a credit culture, stating: “Our government will continue to take proactive steps such as championing a credit culture to discourage corruption while strengthening the effectiveness and efficiency of the various anti-corruption agencies.”
It was also on a day the President, who had during his presidential campaigns, promised Nigerians that he would remove subsidy on petroleum products, made good his words by announcing suspension on them, adding that the era of payments on fuel was gone, as the 2023 Budget made no provision for fuel subsidy “and more so, subsidy payment is no longer justifiable.”
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