By Adedapo Adesanya
The Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal (PEPT) at the Court of Appeal in Abuja has rejected the Labour Party challenge to President Bola Tinubu’s narrow victory in February’s presidential election.
After a six-hour verdict, the court held that the appeal by Mr Peter Obi, the Labour Party presidential candidate challenge, was without merit and dismissed all his arguments, including fraud.
Despite the election challenge, Mr Tinubu was sworn into office on May 29.
The PEPT ruled that Mr Obi failed to establish that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) intentionally refused to quickly upload polling unit results to IReV so as to alter the results in Tinubu’s favour.
It also said the INEC regulations and the Electoral Act give room for manual collation of results and said electronic transmission was optional at best.
The court also said Mr Obi and his legal team failed to prove that President Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was convicted for money laundering in the United States.
The five-man panel led by Justice Haruna Tsammani ruled that no record of criminal arrest or conviction was established against Mr Tinubu by Mr Obi and the Labour Party.
He said that the petitioners failed to specify the polling units where they alleged that rigging took place.
The court also said the petitioners failed to provide any credible evidence to prove their allegations of suppression of votes in their strongholds.
The election was the most fiercely contested since the end of military rule in 1999, with three strong candidates for the first time. Mr Tinubu won with 37 per cent of votes cast, against 29 per cent for Mr Abubakar and 25 per cent for Mr Obi.
Despite warnings from authorities against demonstrations, various political groups gathered outside the courthouse, singing and dancing.
As of press time, the verdict on the challenge by Mr Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party was being analysed.
The ruling is coming on the same day that President Tinubu is marking 100 days in office.
Legal experts say the case will likely move to the Supreme Court, where the aggrieved parties would appeal against this judgement.
