The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal has dismissed a petition filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) challenging Peter Obi‘s membership in the Labour Party (LP).
The APC had argued that they possessed the locus standi to initiate their petition against Peter Obi, on the grounds that he joined the LP just days before the election, rather than the required 30-day period.
However, the tribunal deemed the petition as incompetent and maintained that it was not within the rights of the APC to dispute Peter Obi’s candidacy.
The tribunal emphasized, “The issue of membership of a political party is an internal party affair.”
Furthermore, the tribunal rejected the objections raised by the respondents, who argued that Peter Obi and the LP failed to include Atiku as a respondent in their petition.
The court clarified that Section 133 of the Electoral Act stipulates that both the losing and winning candidates, as well as the entity responsible for conducting the election, should be included as respondents.
KanyiDaily recalls that the Presidential Tribunal had also ruled that the petition filed by Peter Obi against President Bola Tinubu, lacked clarity in certain crucial aspects.