PEPC: Tinubu, Shettima tender Anambra LP membership

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In their joint effort to substantiate their claim that Mr Peter Obi, the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), is not a registered member of the party, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his Vice, Senator Kashim Shettima, presented a copy of the Labour Party (LP) membership register for Anambra State.

Tinubu and Shettima, who are listed as the second and third respondents in Obi and LP’s petition (numbered CA/PEPC/03/2023), challenging the outcome of the presidential election, argued in their response that Obi was not qualified to contest the last election on the platform of the LP since he was not a member of the party at that time.

Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), the lead Counsel to Tinubu and Shettima, submitted the documents along with LP’s letter dated April 25, 2022, which forwarded the membership register to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.

These documents were tendered on Wednesday when Tinubu and Shettima began their defence against Obi and LP’s petition challenging their victory in the presidential poll.

Among the documents presented by Tinubu and Shettima to defend their victory were certified true copies of the committee report on the location of the Federal Capital Territory, Forms EC8D and EC8D(A) concerning the presidential election from Kano state, and the acknowledged copy of Shettima’s letter of withdrawal from the Borno South Senatorial race upon being selected as the Vice Presidential candidate by the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Additionally, certified true copies of the Supreme Court’s judgment in SC/CV/501/2023 between PDP vs. INEC and 3 others, delivered on May 26, 2023, as well as pages 28 and 27 of the 23rd and 24th editions of the Nigerian Tribune newspaper were presented as evidence.

Despite objections to their admissibility by the lead Counsel to the petitioners, Dr Livy Uzoukwu (SAN), the court admitted all the documents and marked them as exhibits.

The Labour Party and its Presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, are contesting Tinubu’s declaration as the winner of the presidential election.

Meanwhile, Senator Michael Okpeyemi Bamidele, the sole witness for Tinubu and Shettima, informed the court in his testimony that the Labour Party membership register for Anambra state does not include Peter Obi’s name as a member.

As an associate of President Tinubu for over 31 years, the witness, who currently serves as the majority leader of the Senate, stated that Tinubu is a Nigerian citizen by birth and that a criminal search conducted by the US government confirmed that there are no criminal convictions against Tinubu.

At the conclusion of the witness’s testimony, Olanipekun announced the closure of President Tinubu and Vice President Shettima’s case.

When the lead Counsel to the APC, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), was called upon to present the defence of the party’s victory in the February 25 presidential election, he informed the court that, based on their assessment, the fourth respondent does not need to burden the court with lengthy written submissions.

“We have established our case through the testimony of the second and third respondents. We are not calling any witnesses. Our case is closed,” Fagbemi informed the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC).

In accordance with the pre-hearing session report, the court granted the respondents 10 days each to file their written addresses, seven days for the petitioners to respond, and five days for the reply on points of law.

Justice Haruna Tsammani, the presiding judge of the court, informed the parties involved in the petition that a date for the adoption of written addresses will be communicated to them.

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