February 25: APM Withdraws Petition Against Tinubu’s Electoral Victory

The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) has withdrawn its appeal before the Supreme Court on the electoral victory of President Bola Tinubu at the February 25 presidential election.

In the appeal, the party had sought to nullify President Tinubu’s electoral victory having lost the same case at the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal (PEPT).

The opposition party, through its team of lawyers led by Mr. Chukwuma Machukwu Ume, SAN, withdrew the matter shortly after it was called up for hearing on Monday.

Justice Inyang Okoro, who is leading the panel of Supreme Court Justices on the appeal, berated the party for filing the appeal, describing it as baseless.

The panel asked what the party stood to gain from the appeal, which it said was one of the reasons that the apex court is being overworked.

Justice Okoro said the appeal would amount to a total waste of time and an academic exercise since the party only wanted the apex court to “state the law”.

“If for instance that you win a case, there must be something to be gained from the victory. We have read your appeal, there is absolutely nothing in it. You are not asking for your candidate to be declared winner or anything of such, all you want is for the President to be removed.

“If we remove the President, then what next? There are two other appeals here that are asking for something substantial,” Jutice Okoro said.