From Godwin Tsa, Abuja

Three presidential candidates and their respective parties have filed petitions with the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) calling for the nullification of Bola Tinubu’s victory as president-elect in the February 25 elections.

The petitioners include the Labour Party (LP) and its candidate, Peter Obi; the Action Alliance (AA) and its presidential candidate, Solomon David Okangbuan; and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) and its presidential flagbearer, Ojei Princess Chichi.

The petitioners are seeking the nullification of the result of the presidential election, claiming that Tinubu was not qualified to contest the election. According to the LP and Peter Obi’s petition marked CA/PEPC)/03/2023, Tinubu was not duly elected by the majority of lawful votes cast at the time of the election.

They argued that Tinubu failed to score one-quarter of votes cast at the presidential election at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and thus, was not entitled to be declared and returned as the winner of the election.

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Obi’s petition filed by his lead counsel, Livy Ozoukwu, SAN, was based on the grounds that “at the time of the (presidential) election, Tinubu was not qualified to contest the election and that he was not duly elected by the majority of the lawful votes cast at the time of the election.”

He urged the tribunal to determine that at the time of the presidential election, Tinubu and Shettima were not qualified to contest the election. He further requested the tribunal to cancel the election and compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a fresh election without Tinubu, Shettima, and the All Progressives Congress (APC).

In their petition marked CA/PEPT/01/2023, the Action Alliance (AA) and its candidate, Solomon David Okangbuan, are urging the tribunal to nullify the presidential election on the grounds of the exclusion of its presidential candidate.

Meanwhile, the APM and its candidate, Ojei Princess Chichi, claimed in their petition that Tinubu was not qualified to contest the election by virtue of the provisions of sections 131 (c) and 142 of the 1999 Constitution and section 35 of the Electoral Act, 2022.

The petitioners have asked the tribunal to nullify the declaration and return of Tinubu as the duly elected president, citing non-compliance with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution and Electoral Act, 2022.