Abuja, March 4, 2023 – The states that applied to the Supreme Court to withdraw their suit for the nullification of the presidential election result are not withdrawing the suit case totally, but are going to the election petition tribunal to pursue the case.
Mike Ozekhome, one of their lawyers, explained the situation in a statement he issued on Friday evening.
He said that the states were now pursuing the case at the tribunal instead of the Supreme Court, which is the traditional place for pursuing such cases.
“The states will now pursue the matter legally at the presidential election petitions tribunal which is the traditional channel for resolving election disputes in the country,” he said
Ozekhome said the suit was also withdrawn from the Supreme Court because it had been overtaken by events since the case was filed on Feb. 20, 2023.
“The Supreme Court suit between the six states and AG Federation, which was filed during the flawed manual collation of results contrary to the clear provisions of the Electoral Act, the INEC Guidelines and Regulations and the manual for INEC officials, has been discontinued due to the fact that the flawed results have already been announced and a President-elect declared, albeit illegally and unconstitutionally.
“Having been overtaken by events, it will now be a tribunal matter,” he said.
Six states had filed a joint suit at the Supreme Court challenging the validity of the results of Presidential and National Assembly elections held on Feb. 25.
They are Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo and Sokoto.
The six are governed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) whose presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, scored 6,984,520 votes to come second to the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, who scored 8,794,726 votes.
They are asking the court to declare that the results of the elections null and void since its process contravened the provisions of the electoral act.
They are, particularly, contending that the failure of INEC to transmit the results electronically from the polling units ran afoul of the provisions of the electoral law.
The suit is also seeking a declaration that the entire process of the presidential and national parliamentary elections did not comply with legal provisions and should be holistically reviewed with original result sheets signed at polling units.
the states alleged that the agents and officials of the Federal Government and INEC disregarded the requirements of the Electoral Act 2022, INEC Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of the Elections 2022, and the INEC Manual for Election Officials by failing to transmit the collated results using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) which is a flagrant violation of the applicable laws. (GBN)
