In an intriguing twist at the Presidential Election Tribunal, Peter Obi, the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party in the recently concluded elections, was conspicuously absent during the proceedings, as noted by findwhosabi.
As the clock struck 9:34 am, signaling the commencement of the tribunal session, Chairman Justice Haruna Tsammani called for the introduction of petitioners and responders. To the tribunal’s surprise, Julius Abure, the embattled chairman of the LP, stood in for the absentee petitioner, Peter Obi.
Vice-President Kashim Shettima introduced himself as the first responder, accompanied by the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Abdullahi Ganduje.
The verdict, expected on Wednesday, will be delivered by Chairman Justice Haruna Tsammani, with the support of other panel members: Justices Stephen Adah, Monsurat Bolaji-Yusuf, Moses Ugo, and Abba Mohammed.
The three petitions, marked CA/PEPC/03/2023, CA/PEPC/05/2023, and CA/PEPC/04/2023, were filed by Mr. Peter Obi of the Labour Party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), respectively.
Recall that on March 1, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared that the ruling All Progressives Congress candidate, Tinubu, secured victory in the presidential election held on February 25. Tinubu garnered 8,794,726 votes, surpassing his closest competitors: Alhaji Atiku of the PDP with 6,984,520 votes and Mr. Obi of the LP with 6,101,533 votes.
Dissatisfied with the election outcome, both Atiku and Obi have approached the tribunal in a bid to contest the results.