President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) concluded their defence in the petition lodged by Mr. Peter Obi and the Labour Party (LP). Their legal team, confident in their star witness Senator Opeyemi Bamidele’s testimony, asserted that further witnesses were unnecessary, as they had already presented a compelling case.
The star witness, an accomplished Attorney in the United States and the Majority Leader of the Senate, emphatically declared that there was no trace of criminal proceedings or convictions against Senator Bola Tinubu in the United States. This revelation dealt a significant blow to the opposition’s attempts to undermine Tinubu’s integrity.
Adding to the controversy, Senator Bamidele disclosed in his witness deposition that there was a substantial discrepancy of ten thousand, nine hundred and twenty-nine votes in the recorded tally for Senator Bola Tinubu in Kano state. This revelation raises questions about the transparency and accuracy of the electoral process.
Earlier in the proceedings, the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) admitted Chicago State University records as evidence to support President Bola Tinubu’s defense against the petition filed by the Labour Party (LP) and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi. The defense team also presented educational documents, including an admission letter and a United States visa spanning a decade, attesting to Tinubu’s attendance and graduation from an American university.
To further bolster their case, lawyers representing President Tinubu submitted the membership register of the Labour Party in Anambra State. The register aimed to establish that Peter Obi was ineligible to contest the 2023 presidential election under the LP at the time of the election, raising doubts about Obi’s qualifications.
President Tinubu and his vice, Shettima, vehemently argued that Peter Obi had purportedly resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on May 26, 2022, only to join the Labour Party on May 27, 2022. According to them, the LP held its Presidential Primary election on May 30, 2022, where Obi emerged as the candidate for the general election.
However, Obi’s counsel countered the claims, asserting that he was indeed a member of the PDP when he contested the presidential election under the LP, challenging the opposition’s narrative.
The APC’s claim against Peter Obi faces an uphill battle, as this is not the first time his candidacy under the Labour Party has been challenged. Earlier this year, the Court of Appeal affirmed Peter Obi as the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the February elections. The court dismissed an appeal filed by the Allied People’s Movement, further diminishing the credibility of the opposition’s arguments.
Additionally, The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) recently lost an appeal seeking the disqualification of the Bola Tinubu-Kashim Shettima ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 25 February election. The Court of Appeal upheld the validity of the nomination of the two APC candidates, stating that the PDP lacked the legal right to initiate the case. These previous judgments cast doubt on the likelihood of the APC’s claim against Peter Obi finding success.
As the legal battle continues, all eyes are on the judge’s forthcoming decision, eagerly awaiting the resolution of this contentious dispute.
