Tinubu to Atiku, PDP: Your Petition Gross Abuse of Judicial Process

* Says Atiku’s emergence as presidential candidate balkanized, affects PDP’s fortune

Alex Enumah in Abuja

The President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, on Thursday told the presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku and and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), that their petition against his victory at the February 25 presidential election constitutes a gross abuse of the judicial process.

Tinubu, in a preliminary objection he filed against the petition dated March 21, stated that it was wrong for the petitioners to approach the tribunal with the same issues they earlier filed at the Supreme Court.

Besides, while insisting that he clearly won majority of the votes cast at the election and was rightly declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Tinubu observed that the emergence of Atiku as the presidential candidate of the PDP balkanized the major opposition party and in turn affected the fortunes of the PDP in the election.

In the petition filed on his behalf by his lawyer, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), the respondent observed that six states comprising Adamawa, Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo and Sokoto, which are under the control of the PDP had approached the Supreme Court to nullify the outcome of the presidential election.

In their originating summons dated February 28, 2023, the plaintiffs predicated their request on the grounds that INEC did not comply with its Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections, 2022.

Specifically, they claimed that the failure of INEC to use the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) to electronically transmit results of the elections substantially affected the credibility of the process.

“The petitioners herein, through themselves and/or their proxies filed the originating summons at the Supreme Court, before filing this petition.

The petitioners are maintaining two processes in respect of the same subject and/or complaint of theirs, against the conduct of the presidential election held on 25th February, 2023.

“This latter petition is abusive of the originating summons filed at the Supreme Court and is liable to be dismissed in limine,” Tinubu insisted.

Outside the alleged incompetence of Atiku and PDP’s petition, Tinubu stated that claims by the petitioners that his election was marred is invalid by reason of corrupt practices, incompetent and not cognisable under the Electoral Act.

He noted that contrary to the petitioners’ claim of corrupt practices, Atiku and PDP’s performance could be traced to internal wrangling within the PDP.

“While the 1st petitioner claims to be the candidate of the 2nd petitioner at the presidential election under reference, the respondent shall lead evidence that a host of states controlled by the 2nd petitioner and their governors protested against the emergence of the 1st petitioner as the candidate of the 2nd petitioner and till the date of the election, vowed not to support him, and they indeed did not support his candidature,” Tinubu said.

He added that at the tribunal, he shall lead evidence to show that Atiku could not even campaign or canvass for votes in some of the states controlled by the PDP including Rivers and Oyo States where he defeated Atiku by a wide margin.

“The 2nd petitioner does not have any right whatsoever or howsoever to be returned as duly elected at the election held on February 25, 2023, having lost to and/or been beaten/defeated by the respondent. The 1st petitioner, having lost at the election of February 25, 2023, has no right to and cannot be declared as the winner of the election under the Nigerian laws,” Tinubu insisted.

In addition, he disclosed that Atiku “has been consistently contesting and losing successive presidential elections in Nigeria since 1993, whether at the party primary election level or at the general election; including 1993, when he lost the Social Democratic Party (SDP) primary election to the late Chief M.K.O Abiola; 2007, when he lost the presidential election to the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua; 2011, when he

lost the Peoples Democratic Party presidential primary election to President Goodluck Jonathan; 2015, when he lost the APC primary election to President Muhammadu Buhari; 2019, when he lost the presidential election to President Muhammadu Buhari; and now, 2023, when he has again, lost the presidential election to the respondent. 

“Further to (iv) supra, it was/is not a surprise and/or not by accident that the electorate rejected the 1st petitioner at the polls of the presidential election held on February 25, 2023,” he stated.

Arguing further, Tinubu submitted that unlike Atiku, he has been a more “consistent politician, who has not shifted political tendency and alignment”, adding that Atiku, “has consistently crisscrossed different political parties of Nigeria, including being a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) before joining the Action Congress in 2007, when he was the presidential candidate of the party; returned to the PDP thereafter, before joining the 3rd respondent in 2015, where he contested the primary election with President Muhammadu Buhari, before returning to the PDP in 2019 to emerge as its presidential candidate”.

Besides, Tinubu claimed that he has not only always carried his supporters along but has increased his political followership, while Atiku on the other hand has lost most of his followers in the process of moving from one political party to the other. 

“The emergence of the 1st petitioner as the presidential candidate of the 2nd petitioner led to irreconcilable hostilities within the ranks of the 2nd petitioner, causing the emergence of a group of governors known all over the country as the G-5 Governors — Rivers, Oyo, Enugu, Abia and Benue — who opposed the 1st petitioner and vowed to mobilise their people against him. The respondent shall at the trial, found and rely on copies of newspaper publications and social media contents in respect of the said subject.

“While the 1st petitioner contested the presidential election of 2019 with President Muhammadu Buhari under a fairly cohesive Peoples Democratic Party with Peter Gregory Obi as his running mate and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso as one of his supporters, the same Peter Gregory Obi broke away from the PDP to join the Labour Party to contest the presidential election of 25th February, 2023, while Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso also broke away from PDP to contest the presidential election on the ticket of the New Nigeria People’s Party. 

“While Peter Obi polled a total number of 6,101,533, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso polled 1,496,687.

“Before the balkanisation of the 2nd petitioner, the South-Eastern States of Enugu, Abia, Imo, Ebonyi and Anambra used to be controlled by the 2nd petitioner, but at the presidential election of 25th February, 2023, they all went the way of Labour Party.

“At a press conference addressed by the 1st petitioner on or about 2nd

March, 2023, he admitted the negative impact of the balkanisation of the 2nd petitioner on the fortune of his election, particularly, the exit of Peter Gregory Obi from the party. Respondent pleads the national newspapers that publicized the 1st petitioner’s press conference, including the Punch of 3rd March, 2023, where the 1st petitioner was reported to have lamented thus:

“It is a fact that Peter Obi took our votes from the South-east and South-south, but that wouldn’t make him the president. You need votes from everywhere,”  Tinubu said.

Meanwhile, Tinubu pointed out that the failure of Atiku and PDP to join Obi and Kwankwaso in the petition was fatal to their case.

“The petitioners complained about outcome of the election in Abia, Anambra, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Enugu, Imo, Kano, Plateau and Lagos States.

“The 2nd respondent was not declared as the overall winner in any of the states aforementioned.

“Mr. Peter Gregory Obi of the Labour Party was declared the overall winner of the election in Abia, Anambra, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Enugu, Imo, Plateau and Lagos States, while Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party was declared winner of the election in Kano State.

“None of Labour Party, Peter Gregory Obi, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, and New Nigeria People’s Party, has been joined as a party to this petition,” he said.

In conclusion, Tinubu stressed that the petition by Atiku and PDP has no substance in fact, logic and law, as well as disclosing no reasonable cause of action.

“It deserves to be summarily dismissed, as same constitutes a crass abuse of the judicial process,” Tinubu submitted.