Nigeria News
Tribunal Rejects Testimonies Of 10 Labour Party, Peter Obi’s Witnesses
The Presidential Election Petitions Court (PEPC) has rejected the testimonies given by 10 out of 13 witnesses called by the Labour Party (LP) and its 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
Justice Haruna Tsammani, who read the judgement on Wednesday, the tribunal held that the witnesses’ statements of oath were incompetent and not admissible.
Earlier, the tribunal had ruled that the All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Bola Tinubu lacked the locus standi to challenge Obi’s membership of the LP.
APC and Bola Tinubu had, in their petitions, argued that Obi’s name was not contained in the list of LP members forwarded to INEC on April 25, 2022, and breached Section 77 of the Electoral Act, 2022.
But in the lead judgment on the objections by the APC against the petitions of Obi and the LP, Justice Abba Bello Mohammed (before he handed over the ruling to Justice Haruna Tsammani) held that the matter was solely an internal affair of the political party.
“It is only the second respondent (LP) that has the sole prerogative of determining those who are its members,” he said.
Justice Mohammed also dismissed APC’s objection on the non-joinder of PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar in Obi and LP’s petition challenging the results of the election for him not being a necessary party in the petition.
