President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday in Abuja informed the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) that the petition instituted against him and his Vice, Kashim Shettima by the Allied People’s Movement (APM) died at the Supreme Court on May 26, 2023.
President Tinubu said that the main issues raised by the petitioner which queries touches on ‘place holder’ by Kabir Masari and Vice President Kashim Shettima’s alleged double nomination had been resolved by the Supreme Court last Friday in a judgment in a suit instituted by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) on similar ground.
The president through his lawyer, Mr. Wole Olanipekun SAN disclosed that, the PDP’S case had resolved the grievances brought before the Court by the Allied People’s Movement.
The Supreme Court had on Friday held that PDP, or any other parties, have no right to poke nose into how other parties conducted their primary elections and nominated their candidates.
The Apex Court while dismissing PDP’S case described the party as busy body and meddle some interloper and imposed a fine of N2M on the party for meddling into the internal affairs of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Olanipekun argued that the APM’S petition was similar to the case taken to Supreme Court by PDP and dismissed on the grounds that PDP has no business interfering with internal affairs of other parties.
He submitted that the APM’S petition is predicted on internal affairs of the APC and that the Supreme Court’s latest judgment had taken life out of the petition.
He promised to make a copy of the judgment available within two days to the Court for perusal on the effects of the APM’S Petition.
Counsel to the APM, Mr. Shehu Abubakar requested for adjournment in the hearing of the petition based on the submissions and revelations of Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN.
Counsel to All Progressives Congress APC Lateef Fagbemi SAN and Abubakar Mahmoud SAN who appeared for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) did not object to the request for adjournment sought by the APM.
Chairman of the Court, Justice Haruna Tsammani granted the request for adjournment and shifted hearing till Friday, June 2.
Olusola Akintonde
