Atiku ask court to declare him as the winner of Presidential election

Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has asked the Presidential Elections Petitions Tribunal (PEPT) to declare him winner of the February 23 presidential election.

Further, Atiku and his party, the PDP also asked the tribunal to disqualify the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Muhammadu Buhari for alleged non-submission of academic credentials to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Form CF001.

In the alternative, they ask the tribunal to set aside the result of the election and order fresh election over allegations of massive irregularities, malpractices and noncompliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act.

The petition by Atiku and the PDP was filed at the tribunal in Abuja yesterday by a team of lawyers including Mike Ozekhome (SAN), Chukwu Machukwu-Ume (SAN), Emeka Etiaba (SAN) and the Legal Adviser of the PDP, Emmanuel Enoidem.

The 21 days within which to file the petition arising from the cause of action will lapse today.

The details of the petition were not made available to newsmen last night, and Atiku did not appear in person to sign the papers.

But the PDP Legal Adviser, Enoidem said the party has already assembled over 20 senior lawyers and strong evidence from the fields to establish the case against Buhari, APC, and INEC.

“We are very ready for this petition; the petition has been well packaged, the reliefs, witnesses have been well put together. More than 400 witnesses are going to testify in this petition, “ he said.

“Our evidence is going to cut across the country on most of the things you already know. And Nigerians are at home with some of the things that happened in this country, the sham they called election.”

The tribunal on March 6 granted Atiku and PDP’s request to compel INEC to grant them access to voters register, smart card readers machines, ballot papers and other sensitive materials for inspection scanning and certification.

A similar request by Pres. Buhari and the APC was granted by the tribunal.

Speaking on the order, Ozekhome said the party has been having challenges getting INEC to provide access to the materials but is confident of winning at the tribunal.

“Our petition is quite solid, very strong, unassailable and we believe that by the grace of God, the true winner and owner of the mandate will have his mandate given to him,” he said.