Objecting to Tinubu’s victory, Peter Obi files a petition calling for new elections.

Peter Obi, a presidential candidate for the Labour Party (LP), has petitioned the presidential election petition tribunal to contest Bola Tinubu’s election as president-elect of Nigeria.

Freelanews reports that Obi’s petition was filed early hours of Tuesday at the Abuja court of appeal which serves as the presidential election petition tribunal.

While Obi and the Labour Party are the petitioners, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Tinubu, Shettima Kashim, the vice president-elect, and the APC are respondents.

In the petition, Obi through his lawyer Livy Ozoukwu submitted that Tinubu “at the time of the (presidential) election was not qualified to contest the election”.

He further argued that the president-elect “was not duly elected by majority of the lawful votes cast at the time of the election”.

Consequently, the petitioners are asking the tribunal to determine that all the votes recorded for Tinubu in the election “are wasted votes, owing to the non-qualification” of the president-elect and Shettima.

“That it be determined that the 2nd respondent ( Tinubu) having failed to score one-quarter of the votes cast at the presidential election in the federal capital territory, Abuja was not entitled to be declared and returned as the winner of the presidential election held on 25 February 2023,” the petitioner said.

Also, the petitioners have asked the tribunal to make “an order cancelling the election and compelling the 1st respondent (INEC) to conduct a fresh election at which the 2nd respondent (Tinubu), 3rd respondent (Shettima) and 4th respondent (APC) shall not participate”.

Quadri Olaitan