Peter Gregory Obi and the Labour Party has filed a petition before the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja challenging the Independent National Electoral Commission,INEC, declaration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressive Congress, APC, as the winner of 2023 presidential election .
He is praying the court to hold that at the time of the Presidential election held on 25th February 2023 Tinubu and Ahmed Shettima were not qualified to contest the election.
That it be determined that all the votes recorded for the 2nd respondent in the election are wasted votes owing to the non- qualification/ disqualification of 2,3 respondents
That it be determined that on the basis of the remaining votes after discountenancing the votes credited to the 2,3 respondents the 1st at petitioner scored a majority of the lawful votes cast at the election and had not less than 25% in each of at least 2/3 of the States of the Federation and the Federal capital Territory Abuja and satisfied the constitutional requirement s to be declared the winner of 25th February 2023 Presidential Election.
That it be determined that 2nd respondent having failed to score one quarter of the votes cast at the presidential election in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja was not entitled to be declared and returned as the winner of the presidential election held on Saturday February 25, 2023.
Recall that the Independent National Electoral Commission chairman, INEC had on March 1 declared Tinubu president-elect saying he polled 8,805,835 votes.
Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic party, had 6,984,640 votes while Obi was said to have scored 6,984,640 votes.
But Obi and Atiku had called for the cancellation of the results, alleging malpractice following the electoral umpire’s failure to electronically upload results immediately from its polling units to the INEC Results Viewing Portal.
Based on the electoral act, litigants have 21 days from the conclusion of election to fill their petitions.
Labour Party filed it’s petition at the Presidential Election Petition Registry at 8 pm on Monday through Obi’s legal team, a day to the expiration of the timeline.