*As Lawyers Fight over AA’s Petition against Tinubu’s Election as President
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A mild drama played out on Monday at the Presidential Election Petition Court ( PEPC), when lawyer attempted to withdraw the petition of the Action Alliance (AA), challenging the declaration of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as winner of the February 25 presidential election.
The AA was the first party amongst five petitioners before the PEPC with suit number: CA/PEPC/01/2023; followed by the Action People’s Party (APP) with petition number: CA/PEPC/02/2023 and Labour Party (LP) with number: CA/PEPC/03/2023.
While that of the Allied People’s Movement (APM) is marked: CA/PEPC/04/2023, that of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) is marked CA/ PEPC/05/2023.
Except for AA, other petitioners are challenging the election which produced Tinubu as President-elect on grounds including substantial non-compliance with the electoral laws, corruption as well as non qualification of Tinubu and his party to be on the February 25 presidential ballot.
However, the AA in its own petition had sought the cancellation of the presidential election on the grounds that its candidate’s name was excluded from INEC’s list of presidential candidates.
While Mr Solomon Okagbuan and AA are the petitioners, the defendants include the INEC, APC, Tinubu, and Hamza Al-Mustapha ( a factional presidential candidate of the AA).
Until few days to the presidential election when the Supreme Court held otherwise, INEC had recognized Al-Mustapha as the candidate of the AA, thereby necessitating the petition by Okagbuan.
While Okagbuan was sponsored by the faction led by Chief Adekunle Omoaje, Al Mustapha, was sponsored by the faction led by Mr Kenneth Udeze.
The petition was filed by the Omoaje faction by their lawyer Chief Oba Maduabuchi, SAN in March, while a Notice of Withdrawal was filed on May 3.
When the matter was called up for hearing, Maduabuchi announced appearance for the AA but before other parties could announce their presence, a lawyer Mr Maliki Nwaekpe stood up to announce appearance for the same AA.
Nwaekpe had announced himself as an applicant seeking the withdrawal of the AA’s petition to the surprise of Maduabuchi and others present in court.
Reacting, Maduabuchi told the court he was the one who filed the petition and described Nwaekpe as a stranger; not known by the AA.
He added that the faction Nwaekpe claimed to be representing have been declared unlawful members of the AA by the Court of Appeal in two separate judgments.
But Nwaekpe, have insisted that the AA never instructed anyone or consented to the filing of the petition in the first place, hence the application for withdrawal.
While the court was trying to sought it the issue of who is the rightful representative of the AA in the matter, Maduabuchi informed the court that he was the one who filed and has also applied to withdraw the petition.
Responding, Justice Haruna Tsammani who led four other justices held that since both lawyers are asking for the same thing, the appearance of Nwaekpe should be discountenance and ordered Maduabuchi to move the Notice of Withdrawal dated May 3.
Maduabuchi in praying the court for an order of withdrawal also urged for the dismissal of same.
Reacting, INEC represented by Abubakar Mahmoud SAN, Tinubu by Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, APC represented by Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN and Mohammed Sanni, who represented Al-Mustapha, all did not object to the withdrawal of the petition.
In a short ruling, Justice Tsammani held that, “in the absence of any objection to the withdrawal of the petition, the application is hereby granted.
“The petition with suit number CA/PEPC/01/2023 is hereby dismissed.
INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu had on March 1, declared Tinubu president-elect on grounds that his party scored majority of votes cast at the poll.
In the results announced Tinubu polled 8,805,835 votes to emerged victorious.
Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) who came second scored 6,984,640 votes while Obi scored 6,101,533 votes.
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