The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) has rejected the testimonies given by 10 out of 13 witnesses called by Peter Obi and the Labour Party.
Justice Haruna Tsammani held that the witnesses’ statements of oath were incompetent and not admissible.
The Presidential Election Petitions Court also has ruled that the All Progressives Congress (APC) lacks the locus standi to challenge Peter Obi’s membership of the Labour Party (LP).
APC and Bola Tinubu had in their petitions argued that Obi’s name was not contained in the list of LP members forwarded to INEC on April 25, 2022 and breached Section 77 of the Electoral Act, 2022.
But in the lead judgment on the objections by the APC against the petitions of Obi and the LP, Justice Abba Bello Mohammed (before he handed over the ruling to Justice Haruna Tsammani) held that the matter was solely an internal affair of the political party.
“It is only the second respondent (LP) that has the sole prerogative of determining those who are its members,” he said.
Justice Mohammed also dismissed APC’s objection on the non-joinder of PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar in Obi and LP’s petition challenging the results of the election for him (Atiku) not being a necessary party in the petition.