Labour Party Rejects Tribunal’s Verdict, As Atiku Heads To Supreme Court, Says We Got Judgement, Not Justice

The Labour Party (LP) has expressed dismay and trepidation over the dismissal of petitions by the five-man panel of the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) led by Justice Haruna Tsammani.

The tribunal had ruled on the petition filed by the party and its Presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

The tribunal had struck out the petition filed against President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima, declaring it as incompetent.

Reacting, National Publicity Secretary of LP, Obiora Ifoh, said justice was not served and it did not reflect the law and the desire of the people.

“Nigerians were witnesses to the electoral robbery that took place on February 25, 2023, which was globally condemned but the Tribunal in its wisdom refused to accept the obvious.

“What is at stake is democracy and we will not relent until the people will prevail.

We salute the doggedness of our team of lawyers who fearlessly exposed the wrath in our system. We can only weep for democracy in Nigeria but we refuse to give up on Nigeria,” Ifoh said.

He said that details of the party’s position will be presented after consultation with their lawyers after the Certified True Copy of the judgement is made available to the party.

In the same vein, the Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar’s lead counsel, Chris Uche, SAN, has said the legal team has been ordered to appeal against the unanimous judgment upholding the victory of President Bola Tinubu.

He made this known while briefing journalists on the decision of Atiku on the judgement.

Uche, who expressed disappointment over the ruling said his client and the legal team had expected the court would have given a verdict that would improve and encourage the use of technology in elections.

He, however, noted that they would appeal the verdict, adding that the struggle has not ended.

Uche said, “The judgment has been delivered but we have not received justice. Luckily, the Constitution has given us the right to appeal. This is a court of first instance. This is a struggle not for our client but for the constitution of the country and democracy. We were expecting an outcome that would improve and encourage the use of tech to enhance election management and transparency in the country.

“We believe that when we get to the Supreme Court, they will have the opportunity to review things said here today. We have the instructions of our client to go ahead to appeal. The struggle has not ended. “

-Dailytrust/Punch