kcnwaigbo:

Oga the law should was amended to make sure electoral cases are concluded within 180 days.

180 days is for the tribunal, Supreme Court still have another 60 days making 240 days/8 months.

Apc is trying to rely on technicalities in the face of raw facts and evidence of massive rigging and irregularities? Kolewerk!

So much from an entitled third position, this man should be arrested already.

seanfer:


Accepting defeat before the battle.

Tinubu should come to the court.... We're in the court waiting!

Penguin2:
Lol

Finally they have come with their watery defense.

Now, let the trials begin.

Meanwhile, I join well meaning Nigerians to call for expedited hearing of the case. We should have a ruling before May 25th at the latest.

We can’t let Tinubu to be sworn in and hope that he’d let the courts be impartial.

We, sane Nigerians, say NO to a drug lord as our president.

Only criminals, thieves, idiots and vagabonds would want a drug lord as their president.

First of all, this is not yet their defence. This is just a Preliminary Objection to get the case dismissed on point of law.

They are yet to respond to the substantive issues of the Petition as filed by Peter Obi. Wait until they respond to Shettima's qualification, Tinubu's drug, 25% at FCT and rigging issues.

Be sure APC may file Cross-petition to challenge Obi's results in South East too.

jchioma:
Apc is trying to rely on technicalities in the face of raw facts and evidence of massive rigging and irregularities? Kolewerk!

And it's not on technicalities that Obi hangs his hope of snatching BAT's mandate on?

Penguin2:
Lol

Finally they have come with their watery defense.

Now, let the trials begin.

Meanwhile, I join well meaning Nigerians to call for expedited hearing of the case. We should have a ruling before May 25th at the latest.

We can’t let Tinubu to be sworn in and hope that he’d let the courts be impartial.

We, sane Nigerians, say NO to a drug lord as our president.

Only criminals, thieves, idiots and vagabonds would want a drug lord as their president.

Modified:

After going through the post, I can confirm that APC’s defense is not even qualified to be called watery.

First, no defense was entered for Tinubu’s drug case🤣

Second, they accused Labour of holding their Primaries on May 30th, outside of INEC timetable but the same party held their convention on 6th of June. Is that not madness?

Third, on Obi not being the member of Labour at the time of primaries, neither the constitution nor the Electoral Act says that “a party shall sponsor a candidate ‘who is a member of that party’ in an election”. What the constitution and Electoral Act says is that for one to contest an election, he must be sponsored by a political party. Nothing was said of whether the person belongs to the party or not.

Again, there’s something called waiver. It’s the inalienable right of a political party to accept a member today and relax her rules and constitution to grant such member all rights and privileges enjoyed by those who have been in the party for years. Nobody or court has right to question that.

APC has no case. And I don’t expect anything different from Tinubu’s lawyers too. This is the reason they resorted to attacks and propaganda against Peter Obi.

The stolen mandate shall be returned.

Seanfer

Obi joined LP outside the timeframe of the electoral act provision.
I believe you know the right thing but the hatred in you won’t make you say the truth.

That a party should submit their register doesnt mean the party should close their register

Clevite:

First of all, this is not yet their defence. This is just a Preliminary Objection to get the case dismissed on point of law.

They are yet to respond to the substantive issues of the Petition as filed by Peter Obi. Wait until they respond to Shettima's qualification, Tinubu's drug, 25% at FCT and rigging issues.

Be sure APC may file Cross-petition to challenge Obi's results in South East too.

See, let APC file cross-petition to challenge Obi’s results in the Southeast. We want the election in Southeast nullified and redone.

But this time, we want electoral materials to arrive in time to every polling unit in all 5 states of Southeast. And results MUST be transmitted from polling units.

I swear to you, you would be marveled at the actual votes Obi will get. The votes of Southeast were suppressed, systematically and otherwise, just to reduce Obi’s numbers.

The Southeast voted nobody else.

Clevite:

First of all, this is not yet their defence. This is just a Preliminary Objection to get the case dismissed on point of law.

They are yet to respond to the substantive issues of the Petition as filed by Peter Obi. Wait until they respond to Shettima's qualification, Tinubu's drug, 25% at FCT and rigging issues.

Be sure APC may file Cross-petition to challenge Obi's results in South East too.

They already vowed to challenge the results from the SE even before Obi filed his petition.

Our neighbors finally labored in vain🤣🤣🤣

I can bet it with anyone, this thread would not make front page.

The mods would do a switcheroo.

CondenseMilk:
APC said that PO should go to court. Now that PO is in court you want the judge to dismiss the case?


Never!

You want them to tell the judges to allow the case before?

kingsways:
That a party should submit their register doesnt mean the party should close their register

30 days before.

jchioma:
Apc is trying to rely on technicalities in the face of raw facts and evidence of massive rigging and irregularities? Kolewerk!

The evidence LP refused to provide in their petition or which one?

seanfer:


180 days is for the tribunal, Supreme Court still have another 60 days making 240 days/8 months.

Oga 180 days from Tribunal to supreme court

CondenseMilk:
APC said that PO should go to court. Now that PO is in court you want the judge to dismiss the case?


Never!

Is asking for a case to be dismissed not part of the legal process?

Na wa for Obidients oooo.

Penguin2:


See, let APC file cross-petition to challenge Obi’s results in the Southeast. We want the election in Southeast nullified and redone.

But this time, we want electoral materials to arrive in time to every polling unit in all 5 states of Southeast. And results MUST be transmitted from polling units.

I swear to you, you would be marveled at the actual votes Obi will get. The votes of Southeast were suppressed, systematically and otherwise, just to reduce Obi’s numbers.

The Southeast voted nobody else.

Did Peter Obi ask for the part in bold in his petition?

Roboto11:
Responding, the APC asked the court to dismiss the suit on the ground that Mr Obi, the 1st petitioner, lacked requisite “locus standi” to institute the petition because he was not a member of LP at least 30 days to the party’s presidential primary to be validly sponsored by the party.

It said: “The 1st petitioner (Obi) was a member of PDP until May 24, 2022.

“1st petitioner was screened as a presidential aspirant of the PDP in April 2022.

“1st petitioner participated and was cleared to contest the presidential election while being a member of the PDP.

“1st petitioner purportedly resigned his membership of PDP on May 24, 2022 to purportedly join the 2nd petitioner (Labour Party) on May 27, 2022.

“2nd petitioner conducted its presidential primary on May 30, 2022 which purportedly produced 1st petitioner 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 2nd petitioner

As a senior lawyer I will go with APC defence. Even b4 the election I noticed obi was not qualified to contest but the parties PDP and APC allowed him contest as to use it against him at the tribunal should such arise.

Those commenting and saying the APC defence is watery should prove to us that it is watery.

According to the electoral Act 2022, obi was never qualified to contest in the first place.

Obi came 3rd in the election and as such ought to have joined PDP and Atiku in his petition.

To me APC has a good defense here but it's left the tribunal to decide.

I urge obi supporters to comment with facts and not sentiments as usual.

APC defense it a TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT for Obi

Antipob777:


As a senior lawyer I will go with APC defence. Even b4 the election I noticed obi was not qualified to contest but the parties PDP and APC allowed him contest as to use it against him at the tribunal should such arise.

Those commenting and saying the APC defence is watery should prove to us that it is watery.

According to the electoral Act 2022, obi was never qualified to contest in the first place.

Obi came 3rd in the election and as such ought to have joined PDP and Atiku in his petition.

To me APC has a good defense here but it's left the tribunal to decide.

I urge obi supporters to comment with facts and not sentiments as usual.

APC defense it a TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT for Obi

What section of the electoral act?

Clevite:
The All Progressives Congress (APC), on Monday, asked the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) in Abuja to dismiss the petition filed by the Labour Party (LP) and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, against the emergence of Bola Tinubu as the president-elect in the 25 February election.

The APC, the 4th respondent, urged the PEPC 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 News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Obi, the 1st petitioner, and LP, the 2nd petitioner, had sued the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mr Tinubu, Kashim Shettima and APC as 1st to 4th respondents respectively.

The petitioners are seeking the nullification of the election victory of Messrs Tinubu and Shettima in the 25 February presidential poll.

NAN reports that while former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) came second with 6,984,520 votes in the election. Mr Obi came third with 6,101,533 votes.

Atiku and the PDP are also challenging the outcome of the poll.

In the petition marked: CA/PEPC/03/2023 filed by Mr Obi and LP’s lead counsel, Livy Ozoukwu, they contended that Mr Tinubu “was not duly elected by majority of the lawful votes cast at the time of the election.”

The petitioners claimed there was rigging in 11 states, adding that they would demonstrate this in the declaration of results based on the uploaded results.

Mr Obi and LP said INEC violated its own regulations when it announced the result despite the fact that at the time of the announcement, the totality of the polling unit results had yet to be fully scanned, uploaded and transmitted electronically as required by the Electoral Act.

Among other prayers, the petitioners urged the tribunal to “determine that, at the time of the presidential election held on February 25, 2023, the 2nd and 3rd respondents (Tinubu and Shettima) were not qualified to contest the election.

“That it be determined that all the votes recorded for the 2nd respondent in the election are wasted votes, owing to the non-qualification of the 2nd and 3rd respondents.

“That it be determined that on the basis of the remaining votes (after discountenancing the votes credited to the 2nd respondent) the 1st petitioner (Obi) scored a majority of the lawful votes cast at the election and had not less than 25 per cent of the votes cast in each of at least two-thirds of the states of the federation and the FCT and satisfied the constitutional requirements to be declared the winner of the Feb. 25 presidential election.

“That it be determined that the 2nd respondent (Tinubu), having failed to score one-quarter of the votes cast at the presidential election in the FCT was not entitled to be declared and returned as the winner of the presidential election held on Feb. 25.”

Responding, the APC asked the court to dismiss the suit on the ground that Mr Obi, the 1st petitioner, lacked requisite “locus standi” to institute the petition because he was not a member of LP at least 30 days to the party’s presidential primary to be validly sponsored by the party.

It said: “The 1st petitioner (Obi) was a member of PDP until May 24, 2022.

“1st petitioner was screened as a presidential aspirant of the PDP in Apni 2022.

“1st petitioner participated and was cleared to contest the presidential election while being a member of the PDP.

“1st petitioner purportedly resigned his membership of PDP on May 24, 2022 to purportedly join the 2nd petitioner (Labour Party) on May 27, 2022.

“2nd petitioner conducted its presidential primary on May 30, 2022 which purportedly produced 1st petitioner 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 2nd petitioner.”

The party argued that Obi was not a member of LP at the time of his alleged sponsorship.

The APC argued 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 INEC not later than 30 days before the date fixed for the party primaries, congresses and convention.”

It stated further that all the PDP’s presidential candidates were screened on 29 April 29, an exercise Mr Obi participated in and cleared to contest while being a member of the party.

It argued that the petition was incompetent since Mr Obi’s name could not have been in LP’s register made available to INEC at the time he joined the party.

The APC equally argued that the petition was improperly constituted having failed to join Atiku Abubakar and PDP who were necessary parties to be affected by the reliefs sought

“By Paragraph 17 of the petition, the petitioners, on their own, stated that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar came second in the presidential election with 6,984,520 votes as against the petitioners who came third with 6,101,533 votes;

“At Paragraph 102 (ii) of the petition, the petitioners urged the tribunal to determine that 1st petitioner scored the majority of lawful votes without joining Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in the petition.

“For the tribunal to grant prayer (iii) of the petitioners, the tribunal must have set aside the scores and election of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar,

“Alhaji Atiku Abubakar must be heard before his votes can be discountenanced by the tribunal,” it said.

The party said the petition and the identified paragraphs were in breach of the mandatory provisions of Paragraph 4(1)(D) of the 1st Schedule to the Electoral Act, 2022.

According to APC, Paragraphs 60 — 77 of the petition are non-specific, vague and/or nebulous and thereby incompetent contrary to Paragraph 4(1)(d) of the Ist Schedule to the Electoral Act, 2022.

It said that the allegations of non-compliance must be made distinctly and proved on a polling unit basis but none was specified or provided in any of the paragraphs of the petition.

“Paragraphs 59-60 of the petition disclose no identity or particulars of scores and polling units supplied in 18,088 units mentioned therein,” it added.

The party, therefore, argued that the tribunal lacked the requisite jurisdiction to entertain pre-election complaints embedded in the petition as presently constituted, among other arguments.

The APC urged the tribunal to dismiss the petition with substantial cost as the same was devoid of any merit and founded on frivolity.

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/592693-tinubu-apc-asks-election-tribunal-to-dismiss-obi-lps-petition-gives-reasons.html

Populism of the blind and headstrong slant have no place in the dispensation of Justice. Peter Obi was a member of LP within the 30 day period prior to the election. If he had stayed in PDP Tinubu would have found it near impossible to win.

We are reclaiming our stolen mandate. The drug Daddy cannot put us into this national and international shame and embarrassment

kcnwaigbo:

Oga 180 days from Tribunal to supreme court

It’s hard to correct one who is not ready to learn.

I wish they televise it

APC have valid points also. But will it be enough to dismiss the case. Time will tell

Elupp is out of the game already fear jagaban.

OfficialP:
I wish they televise it

APC have valid points also. But will it be enough to dismiss the case. Time will tell

In law you can’t build something on nothing. If APC can argue their case to a logic point, the tribunal will have no choice. As it stands now Obi’s name is not on the LP register submitted to Inec 30 days before the primary election.

In essence, cancel that sham of an election.

PassingShot:

At the minimum, one would expect some of you to be reasonable and discerning.

A primary school kid should know that it is impossible to conclude an election petition case in three months let alone in a month and half.

Tinubu is our president for the next 4 years at the minimum.

You know the truth but want to lie to yourself, as long as the court case isn't concluded there will be an interim. A druglord won't rule Nigeria.

Clevite:

First of all, this is not yet their defence. This is just a Preliminary Objection to get the case dismissed on point of law.

They are yet to respond to the substantive issues of the Petition as filed by Peter Obi. Wait until they respond to Shettima's qualification, Tinubu's drug, 25% at FCT and rigging issues.

Be sure APC may file Cross-petition to challenge Obi's results in South East too.

You know the Law!

Well said!

The preliminary objections are quite punchy - sammarily:
1. Peter Obi does not have locus to contest the election and bring the petition at all;

2. failure to add Atiku/PDP to the petition is a huge miss, as PO can’t be declared winner if at all he is successful without first discountenancing Atiku’s votes;

3. no pleadings on polling units disruptions individually; and

4. PO’s petition is fraught with pre-election matters - and the Tribunal itself does not have jurisdiction to hear the matter.

Law is interesting! Let’s see how this place out and watch out for the Defence & potential cross petition.

The game is getting interesting. I cannot wait for the full litigation to commence.

APC is making this appeal about Peter Obi. If the party agrees to pick him as the presidential candidate with unopposed candidates, then why should that be the concern of APC?

Besides, political parties win elections in Nigeria, not individuals. They didn't react to the claim that Bola Tinubu is an ex-druglord. I guess they intentionally ignored it or reporter didn't mention it.