Tribunal Dismisses Petition Seeking Disqualification of Tinubu..
In a significant development, the Presidential Election Petitions Court has determined that it lacks jurisdiction to entertain the petition filed by the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) challenging the eligibility of President Bola Tinubu and Kashim Shettima.
Delivering the leading judgment on Wednesday, Justice Haruna Tsammani asserted that the issues raised in the petition are related to pre-election matters, which should have been addressed in a higher court. He further noted that the 180-day timeframe allotted for addressing the issue had already expired.
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Citing the precedent set in the case of Alhassan and others versus Ishaku and others, Justice Tsammani emphasized that an election tribunal does not possess the authority to delve into the internal primary processes of a political party.
He underscored that matters concerning qualification and disqualification are governed by the provisions outlined in sections 131 and 137(1)(a)(j) of the Nigerian Constitution, and he reiterated that the subject in question pertains to an internal party affair.
The APM had argued that Tinubu and Shettima were not properly nominated to participate in the February 25 election. They contended that, according to the combined interpretation of sections 131(c) and 142(2) of the Nigerian Constitution, 1999, and Section 133 of the Electoral Act, their nominations were rendered invalid.
Furthermore, the APM maintained that there was a violation of Section 33 of the Electoral Act, 2022, which stipulates a 14-day window for candidate replacement, from the moment Kabiru Masari withdrew as the APC placeholder on June 24, 2022, to the date Shettima’s name was submitted to INEC on July 14, 2022—a period of 21 days.
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