By Charles Igwe
Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has taken determined action to challenge the election of President Bola Tinubu. On Tuesday, he submitted a comprehensive appeal containing 35 grounds before the Supreme Court.
Atiku, represented by his legal team led by Chief Chris Uche, SAN, has petitioned the Apex court, seeking to overturn the judgment delivered by the Court of Appeal on September 6. The Court of Appeal’s ruling affirmed President Tinubu, representing the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), as the legitimate winner of the presidential election held on February 25.
Atiku asserts that the decision reached by the Justice Haruna Tsammani-led five-member panel of the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC), which dismissed his petition against the election outcome, was not only fundamentally flawed but also resulted in a severe miscarriage of justice.
The former Vice President argues that the PEPC panel made a legal error by failing to invalidate the presidential election due to non-compliance with the Electoral Act of 2022. He contends that the evidence presented during the proceedings clearly demonstrated that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had acted in violation of the existing election laws and regulations.
Atiku further accuses the PEPC of arriving at a unanimous decision based on substantial misinterpretation and misrepresentation of provisions within both the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the Electoral Act of 2022.
