President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday in Abuja informed the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) that the petition filed by the Allied People’s Movement (APM) against him and his Vice, Kashim Shetima victory is dead by the Supreme Court decision on May 26, 2023.
Tinubu said that the main issues raised by the petitioner queried ‘place holder’ by Kabir Masari and Vice President Kashim Shettima’s alleged double nomination and that the issues have been resolved by the Supreme Court last Friday in a judgment in the suit marked SC/CV/501/23 between the People’s Democratic Party PDP Vs INEC and 3 others.
He gave the information at the resumed hearing through his lawyer, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN , on Tuesday. He disclosed that the PDP’S case had resolved the grievances brought before the Court by the Allied People’s Movement.
Recall that the Supreme Court had on Friday held that PDP, or any other parties, have no right to poke nose into how other parties conducted their primary elections and nominated their candidates.
The Apex Court while dismissing PDP’S case described the party as busy body and meddle some interloper and imposed a fine of N2M on the party for meddling into the internal affairs of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Olanipekun argued that the APM’S petition was similar to the case taken to Supreme Court by PDP that was dismissed on the grounds that PDP has no locus standi (legal right) to bring the action in the first place.
He submitted that the APM’S petition is predicted on internal affairs of the APC and that the Supreme Court’s latest judgment had taken life out of the petition.
He promised to make a copy of the judgment available within two days to the Court for perusal on the effects on the APM’S Petition.
Counsel to the APM, Mr Sheu Abubakar said he has not seen the judgment the respondents counsel was referring to and requested for adjournment in the hearing of the petition based on the submissions and revelations of Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN.
Prince Lateef Fagbemi SAN who stood for the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Abubakar Mahmoud SAN who appeared for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) did not object to the request for adjournment sought by the APM.
Chairman of the Court, Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani granted the request for adjournment and shifted hearing till Friday, June 2.