The Presidential Election Petition Court, (PEPC) sitting in Abuja, has described as incompetent, the petition filed by the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) against the declaration of President Bola Tinibu as the winner of the February 25 presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Recall that APM had asked the court to nullify President Tinubu’s election on the ground that the APC presidential candidate’s running mate, Kashim Shettima, was not validly nominated for election.
The court held that the issues raised by APM in its petition contained pre-election matters that could only be determined by the Federal High Court.
The chairman of the Tribunal, Justice Haruna Tsammani, who read the ruling, upheld the preliminary objections that all the Respondents raised to challenge the competence of the petition.
The court held that since the petition centered on the qualification or otherwise of President Tinubu to contest the presidential election that held on February 25, the APM ought to have gone to court within 14 days after Tinubu was nominated by the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He held that since the cause of action bordered on a pre-election matter, the APM lacked the locus standi to challenge Tinubu’s nomination.
More so, Justice Tsammani held that the Supreme Court had earlier decided that a political party does not have the right to challenge a nomination that was made by another political party.
He held that Sections 131 and 237 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, make provisions for the qualification or disqualification of candidates in an election.
The court noted that the main grouse of the APM was on the alleged invalid nomination of Tinubu’s running mate, Kashim Shettima
