Allied Peoples Movement (APM) has filed ten grounds of Appeal before the Supreme Court of Nigeria challenging the decision of the Presidential Election Petitions Court and asking the apex court to nullify President Tinubu’s election.
The party said that the Presidential Election Petitions Court was in errors in law when on September 6, 2023, it struck out it’s petition as a pre-election matter and for being incompetent.
APM in its notice of appeal filed by its new counsel Chukwuma – Machukwu Ume (SAN), asked the apex court to set aside the judgement of Presidential Election Petitions Court (PEPC) for its numerious errors in law.
It said that sections 131 and 142 (1) of the 1999 Constitution are inextricably linked and neither can be confined as a pre- election matter, as these qualifications are conditions precedent to for being elected to the office of President.
The appellant’s petition was not one founded solely on nomination, but primarily that the 3rd respondent (Tinubu) contested the Presidential Election without a lawful associate running as his Vice President .
That the withdrawal of (Masari ) 5th respondent and the expiry of the 14 days permissible for changing a withdraw or dead candidate under section 33 of the electoral Act 2022, made 3rd respondent election and return invalid.
But, PEPC abandoned it’s duty and Jurisdiction of hearing and determining APM ‘s question of if President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Kashim Shettima were “Validly elected” to the office of President and Vice President under the Constitution” as stipulated by Section 239(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).
The counsel asked the apex court to hold that the PEPC became interested in technical issues solely beneficial to Tinubu and Shettima who are the 3rd and 4th respondents respectively in the appeal ,rather than concentrating on whether 3rd and 4th respondents were Validly elected.
APM contended that “Validly Elected” encompasses being qualified to contest the election, adding that valid election includes the threshold qualifications and disqualification as stipulated in the Constitution.
It said the approach of the court below was to avoid the weighty issue of validly elected through imputing technical elevation pre- election issue.
APM therefore prayed the Supreme Court to allow the appeal and hold that Tinubu was not qualified to contest as the Presidential candidate of APC the 2nd respondent as 25th February 2023 when the presidential election was conducted, having violated the provisions of Section 142 (1) of the Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).
The party also prayed for a declaration that the return of Tinubu by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as the President elect of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is null,void of no legal effect whatsoever.
That the withdrawal of the 5th respondent (Kabir Masari), as Vice Presidential candidate to Tinubu by the operations of the law amounted to automatic withdrawal and invalidation of the candidate of All Progressive Congress (APC) .
APM therefore asked for an order nullifying and voiding all votes scored by APC in the Presidential Election of February 25 and a further order directing INEC to return the second highest score at the election as the winner of the presidential election.