INEC asks court to dismiss Obi’s Petition Against Tinubu
Written by Joey Shekwonuzhibo on April 12, 2023
The Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, has asked the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal to dismiss a petition filed by the Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
Obi and the Labour Party had filed a petition challenging the victory of Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress as the President-Elect.
They also claimed that Tinubu’s running mate and Vice-President-Elect, Kashim Shettima had a double nomination in contravention of the Electoral Act 2022.
The petitioners asserted that the election was marred by rigging and manipulations adding that the INEC violated its own regulations.
In a response filed by INEC, the commission says the reliefs sought by Obi and his party are not grantable.
The commission prayed the court to either dismiss or strike out the petition for being grossly incompetent, abusive, vague, non-specific, ambiguous, and academic.
The commission further discredited the petitioners over the claim that Tinubu was not elected by the majority of lawful votes cast.
In the meantime, the Federal Government, in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration IOM, have evacuated 152 Nigerians, who were stranded and lived as illegal immigrants in Libya.
The evacuated Nigerians whose return was facilitated under the FG-IOM Voluntary Repatriation Exercise, arrived at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, yesterday.
Ambassador Kabiru Musa, Charge D’affiares en titre of the Nigerian Mission in Libya, made this known in a statement made available to journalists.
The Envoy noted that this is the third exercise the Federal Government and IOM have carried out in 2023, with a successful evacuation of nearly 500 Nigerians stranded in Libya to Nigeria already.
Musa further appreciated the Federal Government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and IOM for facilitating the exercise.
