Obi finally files petition at elections tribunal

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, has officially filed a petition to the elections tribunal to protest the outcome of the February 25 poll in which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), declared Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as winner.

Spokesperson of the Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Council, Dr Yunusa Tanko, who disclosed the development in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja, said the legal team of the former Anambra State governor had made good progress with their inspection of electoral data after they were granted access to gather some relevant information from the materials supplied, the delay in filing the petition almost a month after the contentious election.

“It is official the Labor Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has filed his petition to the presidential elections tribunal in Abuja. The process of reclaiming the people’s mandate has started,” Tanko said.

Read also:Obi brands Nnamani’s claims against him as senseless, unsubstantiated

On why it took the Obi-Datti team this long to file the petition, Tanko said his principal wanted to properly collate materials to back up his claims of massive rigging, voters intimidation and corruption allegation against the electoral umpire.

“You know Obi doesn’t like talking without getting facts. That’s why he took his time before he officially filed his case at the tribunal,” he said.

According to the rules, an election petition must be presented and filed within 21 days of the declaration of the result.

The rule also stipulates that in the event of a petitioner missing the deadline to file his petition, such a petition will be ruled to be statute-barred, and he will forfeit his right to bring the case.

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