The All Progressives Congress (APC) have launched a legal challenge against Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi.
The APC is seeking to have the petition filed by Obi dismissed by the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal on several grounds, including that the petition lacks merit and that the court lacks jurisdiction to hear it.
One of the key points of contention in the case is whether Obi was a valid member of the Labour Party at the time of the presidential election.
The APC has argued that Obi was actually a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) until May 24, 2022, when he took part in the party’s presidential primary last year.
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The APC claims that Obi participated in the PDP’s presidential primary and was cleared to contest the presidential election as an aspirant.
According to the APC, Obi purportedly resigned from his membership of the PDP on May 24, 2022, and then joined the Labour Party on May 27, 2022.
The Labour Party conducted its presidential primary on May 30, 2022, which Peter Obi won to be the party’s presidential candidate at the presidential election.
The APC argues that this breaches Section 77(3) of the Electoral Act, which states that a candidate cannot contest the primary election of a political party unless he is a valid member of that party at least 30 days before the date fixed for the party primaries.
Also, the APC has submitted that by the mandatory provisions of Section 77 (1) (2) and (3) of the Electoral Act 2022, “a political party shall maintain a register and shall make such register available to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not later than 30 (thirty) days before the date fixed for the party primaries, congresses and convention.”
Labour Party and Peter Obi had earlier filed a petition at the Election Tribunal against President-elect, Bola Tinubu, challenging his victory, praying that the February 25 presidential election is cancelled and a fresh election is conducted excluding Tinubu, Shettima, and the APC.
