The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has set in motion, machinery to give the Presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, legal “bloody nose” with the appointment of five Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN) to defend the 2023 Presidential election.
The legal team of the electoral body will be led by Abubakar Balarabe Mahmud (SAN) and made up of Stephen Adehi, Pinheiro Oluwakemi Adekunle, Miannaya Essien and Abdullahi Aliyu, all of them Senior Advocates of Nigeria) SANs
Other legal experts are Garba Hassan, Esq, Patricia Obi Esq and Musa Attah Esq.
INEC had on March 1, 2023, declared the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as the winner of the 25 February 2023 presidential election.
Tinubu had polled a total of 8,794,726 votes and also scored over 25 per cent of the votes cast in 30 states, more than the 24 states constitutionally required.
The Chairman of the electoral body, Professor Mahmood Yakubu who announced the final results in Abuja said that the candidate of the PDD, Atiku Abubakar came second with a total of 6,984,520 votes while the LP candidate, Peter Obi came third in the election with a total of 6,101,533 votes even as Rabiu Kwankwaso of the NNPP came fourth with 1,496,687 votes. However, Atiku and Obi have challenged the declaration of INEC claiming that they each, defeated Tinunu in the election.
The development saw the presidential candidates file petitions at the Presidential election tribunal challenging the declaration of Tinubu. Obi, in his petition claimed that Tinubu “was not duly elected by the majority of the lawful votes cast at the time of the election.”
The former Governor of Anambra State alleged that there was rigging in 11 states and that he would demonstrate this in the declaration of results based on the uploaded results.
Source: Naija News.
