Tobias Sylvester
The ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) has asked the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal to dismiss the petition filed by the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi.
KanyiDaily recalls that Peter Obi had filed a petition at the Presidential Elections Tribunal in Abuja, seeking the nullification of the election victory of Bola Tinubu.
On Monday, April 10, the APC asked the tribunal to dismiss Obi’s petition against Tinubu’s emergence as the president-elect in the 25 February election.
The APC, the 4th respondent, urged the tribunal to reject the petition in its notice of preliminary objection marked: CA/PEPC/03/2023 and filed at PEPC’s Secretariat, Monday night, by Thomas Ojo, a member of the party’s legal team led by Lateef Fagbemi in Abuja.
The party asked the tribunal to dismiss the petition with substantial cost on the grounds that it lacked merit and was frivolous.
The APC said Obi, the 1st petitioner, lacked requisite “locus standi” to institute the petition because he was not a member of the Labour Party at least 30 days before the party’s presidential primary to be validly sponsored by the party.
On Obi’s claim to being a member of the Labour Party, the APC argued that he was a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) until May 24, 2022, when he was screened as the party’s presidential aspirant in April 2023.
The APC stated that Obi participated in PDP’s screening exercise and was cleared to contest the presidential election as an aspirant.
It added Obi purportedly resigned his membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on 24th May 2022 to purportedly join the Labour Party on 27th, May 2022.
The Labour Party conducted its presidential primary on 30th May 2022, which purportedly produced Obi as its candidate, which time contravened Section 77(3) of the Electoral Act for him to contest the primary election as a member of the LP.
That Peter Obi was not a member of the Labour Party at the time of his alleged sponsorship, the APC argued.
The APC submitted that by the mandatory provisions of Section 77 (1) (2) and (3) of the Electoral Act 2022, a political party shall maintain a register and shall make such register available to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not later than 30 days before the date fixed for the party primaries, congresses and convention.
The APC also submitted that Peter Obi resigned from his membership of the PDP on Thursday 26th May 2022 and joined the Labour Party the following day 27th May 2022.
“The 2nd petitioner herein conducted its presidential primary on 30th May 2022, which produced the 1st petitioner as the candidate it intended to sponsor in the general election,” the APC said.
The party further submitted that by Section 77(3) of the Electoral Act, 2022, the Labour Party is mandated to have submitted its comprehensive register of members to INEC, 30 days before its presidential primary, that is to say, the said register of members must have been submitted to the 1st respondent on or before 30th April 2022
As of 30th April 2022, Peter Obi was still a member of the PDP and his name was not and could not have been in the register of members submitted by the Labour Party to INEC.
KanyiDaily recalls that APC campaign spokesman, Festus Keyamo had also petitioned the Department of State Services (DSS) to arrest and prosecute Peter Obi for “incitement and treasonable felony”.
