Presidential election: Don’t cancel our victory over 25 percent in FCT – Tinubu, Shettima begs tribunal

President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima have appealed to the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal not to invalidate the presidential election held on February 25. The duo urged the tribunal to disregard the controversy surrounding the allocation of 25 percent of votes in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and uphold the election results. The plea was made in a final address presented by their lead counsel, Wole Olanipekun.

Olanipekun, in his address, dismissed the arguments and testimonies put forth by the challengers as baseless and lacking in substance. He deemed them frivolous and based on hearsay, urging the court to dismiss the petition due to its lack of merit.

The primary contention of the petitioners, the Labour Party (LP) and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, was that Tinubu and Shettima’s election should be nullified because they did not secure 25 percent, or one-quarter, of the votes in the FCT. Olanipekun countered this argument, asserting that it lacked legal grounds as the constitutional use of “and” is conjunctive, not disjunctive.

Olanipekun further emphasized that judges should not be regarded as oracles who predict outcomes and subsequently declare a successor to a deceased leader, as they cannot perform miracles or fabricate evidence to assist a plaintiff in winning a case.

“The appellant woefully failed to realise that judges do not act like the oracles of life, which is often engaged in crystal gazing and thereafter would proclaim a new Oba in succession to a deceased Oba.

“Judges cannot perform miracles in the handling of civil claims, and at least of all manufacture evidence for the purpose of assisting a plaintiff win his case,” he said.

The plea from Tinubu and Shettima comes as the tribunal reviews the petition challenging the outcome of the presidential election. The verdict of the tribunal will have far-reaching implications for the nation’s political landscape, and the final decision will be closely watched by all stakeholders.