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Presidential Poll: Atiku Files Petition, Insists Tinubu Not Qualified To Contest

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Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar has filed a petition to challenge the declaration of Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, as the winner of the presidential election that was held on February 25.

Atiku, in the petition, marked: CA/PEPC/05/2023, which he lodged before the Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC, sitting at the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, applied for the withdrawal of the Certificate of Return that was issued to Tinubu by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

He maintained that the declaration of Tinubu as the winner of the presidential election was “invalid by reason of non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022”.

READ ALSO: Tribunal Gives Obi 21 Days For Hearing On Election Petition

Atiku, through his team of lawyers led by Mr Joe Kyari Gadzama, SAN, further argued that Tinubu’s election was invalid by reason of corrupt practices.

The 2nd Respondent was not duly elected by a majority of lawful votes cast at the Election.

“The 2nd Respondent was at the time of the Election not qualified to contest the Election”, Atiku added while listing grounds he said the court should consider nullifying Tinubu’s election.

He prayed the court to declare him the winner of the presidential election, having secured the second-highest number of lawful votes cast at the election.

READ ALSO: Presidential Election: Atiku, Obi Move To Replicate Kenya, Malawian Rare Judgements

Meanwhile, Vanguard learned that Atiku’s legal team perfected the petition filing process at the Registry of the Court, late in the night on Tuesday.

It will be recalled that the Labour Party, LP, and its candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, had Monday night, also filed a petition before the court to void the declaration of Tinubu as the President-elect.

They prayed the court to hold that Tinubu was not legally qualified to contest the election, alleging that he was previously convicted and fined the sum of $460,000.00 by the United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, in Case No: 93C 4483, for an offence involving dishonesty and drug trafficking.

READ ALSO: Wike Mocks Atiku, PDP Leaders Over Protest At INEC Office

Obi prayed the court to declare him as the candidate that secured the majority of the lawful votes cast with the required constitutional spread of not less than 25% of the votes cast in at least 2/3 of the States of the Federation, and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

In the alternative, he prayed the court to order a fresh poll, with the exclusion of both Tinubu and the APC, by virtue of their non qualification to participate in the election.

It will be recalled that INEC had on March 1, announced Tinubu as the winner of the presidential poll, ahead of 17 other candidates that contested the election.

It declared that Tinubu scored a total of 8,794,726 votes to defeat Atiku who polled a total of 6,984,520 votes and Obi who came third with a total of 6,101,533 votes.

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Edo Poll: LP Guber Candidate, Akpata Replaces Running Mate

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Olumide Akpata, the governorship candidate of the Labour Party in the forthcoming election in Edo State, has replaced his running mate, Alufokhai Oluyinka, with Prince Kadiri Yussuf Asamah (SAN).

Prior to his nomination, he served as a partner and head of the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice Group at the law firm of Jackson, Etti & Edu.

His extensive experience and expertise in civil and commercial litigation, arbitration, mediation, negotiation, and regulatory compliance make him a valuable asset to the legal community.

He has also earned a reputation for his meticulous approach and dedication to achieving favourable outcomes for his clients.

READ ALSO:Students Attack LP Guber Candidate At UNIBEN, Akpata Fingers Govt Official

His nomination as running mate to Akpata has reportedly caused a mix of excitement and concern within the Auchi political circles.

While some are excited hoping his nomination would serve as a breath of fresh air and also infuse a reasonable degree of credibility into the political process, the critics, however, contended that he has been largely apolitical until now and may not change the tide in the political arena.

 

 

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[JUST IN] Ganduje: Kano APC Sacks Ward Leaders

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The All Progressives Congress, APC, state working committee in Kano, has taken drastic measures against some Ward Party Leaders who suspended the National Chairman of the Party, Umar Abdullahi Ganduje.

APC Ganduje ward in Dawakin Tofa Local Government was said to have suspended Ganduje but in a quick counter, the party’s local government officials thwarted the suspension and sacked those behind it.

The APC Dawakin Tofa Local Government Chairman, Inusa Dawanau, told Newsmen that those behind the suspension of the National Chairman were caught in anti-party activities and their records of meetings with the opposition, exposed.

READ ALSO: UPDATED: APC Suspends National Chairman, Ganduje

Adopting the suspension of the APC Ward APC leaders, the state working committee of the Party said they have sanctioned the perpetrators for six months and a special investigations panel has been set up to verify several allegations against them.

The Kano Chairman of the Party, Abdullahi Abbas, said the decisions of the LG Party Leaders have since been adopted.

We have evidence of meetings between the state government officials and those that suspended the National Chairman. The state working committee has agreed to sanction them for six months and they stand now suspended.”

However, one of the accused party men against Ganduje, Halliru Gwanjo said they decided to suspend him from the party due to the allegations levelled against him by the Kano State government on bribery.

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UPDATED: APC Suspends National Chairman, Ganduje

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The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje, has been suspended from the party.

Ganduje was suspended by members of his ward, the Ganduje Ward in the Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area of Kano State on Monday.

His suspension followed alleged corruption charges levelled against him by the state government.

Recall that the Kano High Court had said Ganduje will, on April 17, 2024, be arraigned on charges bothering on allegations of bribery, diversion, and misappropriation of funds, including the purported acceptance of $413,000 and N1.38bn in bribes.

READ ALSO: BREAKING: Kano Govt To Arraign APC Chairman Ganduje, Wife April 17

The Kano State Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, Haruna Dederi, who confirmed the development, said Ganduje would be arraigned alongside his wife and six others.

The accused individuals, as listed in the writ of summon, include Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, Hafsat Umar, Abubakar Bawuro, Umar Abdullahi Umar, Jibrilla Muhammad, Lamash Properties Ltd, Safari Textiles Ltd, and Lesage General Enterprises.

The Kano State Government, which initiated the criminal suit against the eight respondents, declared its readiness to present 15 witnesses to testify before Justice Usman Na’aba of State High Court number four.

It is very true. We have filed the case and it’s going to hold on the 17th of April, 2024. What I cannot confirm is whether he is served or not, but he will definitely be served,” he said.

READ ALSO: Dollar bribery: Kano Govt Files Fresh Legal Suit Against Ganduje, Wife, Six Others

Dederi further highlighted the significance of accountability in governance, remarking, “What he (Ganduje) doesn’t understand is that you cannot run away from the evil day, it will definitely come to you, and this will even serve as a deterrence to all of us that are also in government now.”

The commissioner also addressed the jurisdictional aspect of the case, asserting, “He was saying that we can’t prosecute him, forgetting that the offence also falls under the category of the state offences,” he said.

It’s not totally a federal affair and we have even appealed to Justice Liman ruling on that.”

 

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