The Labour Party, LP, has strongly rejected the verdict of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal on the suit filed by its candidate, Peter Obi, against the victory of President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
The tribunal had faulted most of the arguments advanced by the LP candidate in his petition against Tinubu.
According to the tribunal, Obi failed to prove Tinubu’s conviction in the United States over money laundering and drug trafficking charges.
The tribunal headed by Justice Haruna Tsammani also overruled Obi’s argument that Tinubu should not be president for failing to win 25 percent of votes in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.
The tribunal equally ruled that Obi’s petition was based on rhetoric.
A petition filed against Tinubu’s election by the Allied Peoples Movement, APM, was earlier dismissed by the tribunal.
The LP reacted to the tribunal’s decisions in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, in Abuja, shortly after the tribunal delivered its verdict.
The statement reads:
PRESS RELEASE FROM LABOUR PARTY :
LABOUR PARTY REJECTS THE PEPC JUDGEMENT
The Labour Party watched with dismay and trepidation the dismissal of petitions by the five-man panel of the Presidential Election Petition Court led by Justice Haruna Tsammani today and we reject the outcome of the judgment in its entirety because justice was not served and it did not reflect the law and the desire of the people.
Nigerians were witnesses to the electoral robbery that took place on February 25, 2023, which was globally condemned but the Tribunal in its wisdom refused to accept the obvious.
What is at stake is democracy and we will not relent until the people will prevail.
We salute the doggedness of our team of lawyers who fearlessly exposed the wrath in our system. We can only weep for democracy in Nigeria but we refuse to give up on Nigeria. Details of the party’s position will be presented after consultation with our lawyers after the Certified True Copy of the judgement is made available to us.
We urge all lovers of democracy to remain focused and hopeful because a new Nigeria is possible.
SIGN
Obiora Ifoh
National Publicity Secretary
Labour Party
06-09-2023