The Presidential Election Tribunal in Abuja has reserved its ruling in the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, against the victory of President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The tribunal, after adopting the parties’ final written addresses, reserved judgment to a date to be communicated to the parties in the case.
SaharaReporters earlier reported that Atiku was physically present at the tribunal as the court adopted the final written address against the victory of Tinubu and the APC.
Atiku had asked the Presidential Election Petition Court to declare him the winner of the February 25 presidential election, “having won in 21 states.”
This was as he stated that the winner announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission, Bola Tinubu, was not qualified to contest the election “having regard to an order of criminal forfeiture against him arising from a drug-related offence, his declaration of allegiance to a country other than Nigeria and acquisition of citizenship of another country and presenting a forged certificate to the first respondent (INEC)’.
Atiku also stated that he had proven that the return of Tinubu in the election as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was “invalidated by reason of substantial non-compliance with the mandatory provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022 on electronic transmission of results for collation and verification by deliberate bypass of and failure to transmit the election results electronically.”
He made the request in his final address filed at the PEPC on July 20 in support of his joint petition with the PDP, seeking the nullification of INEC’s declaration of Tinubu as the winner of the poll.
The petitioners — PDP and Atiku as well as Labour Party (LP) and its flag bearer, Peter Obi — are praying for the nullification of Tinubu’s victory in the February 25 poll.
They are both praying to be named the winner of the election, or that a rerun to be conducted.
The parties filed and exchanged their final written addresses with the last being Tinubu’s reply on July 24 to the final written address by Atiku and the PDP.
While Obi and the LP called 13 witnesses, tendered a lot of documents and closed their case on June 23, Atiku and the PDP called 27 witnesses, tendered documents and closed their case on June 23.
