Our reporter/ President Bola Tinubu has through his lawyers asked the presidential election tribunal to dismiss the petition of the labour party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and his party as the country faces a reign of anarchy if the result of the presidential election is upturned.
Counsel to Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima, Wole Olanipekun, SAN gave the warning in his final written address against the petition of Obi and LP, described the arguments and testimonies of witnesses presented by the challengers as “frivolous, bogus and based on hearsay”.
He urged the court to dismiss the petition as totally lacking in merit, substance and bona fide.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria also argued that the “remote” contention of the petitioners that his client’s election should be cancelled for not scoring 25 percent or one-quarter of the votes recorded in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is not backed by any fact known to the law as the use of “and” in the constitution is conjunctive and not disjunctive.
The address reads in part: “This case clearly cries to high heavens in vain to be fed with relevant and admissible evidence.
“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.”
The senior lawyer admitted Tinubu’s failure to score 25 per cent of votes cast in Nigeria’s capital Abuja, but said it was insufficient to overturn his victory as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
“Any other interpretation different from this will lead to absurdity, chaos, anarchy and alteration of the very intention of the legislature.” Olanipekun stated.
“Our courts have always adopted the purposeful approach to the interpretation of our Constitution, as exemplified in a host of decisions,” the team said.
According to him, Tinubu would still have won the election even if he didn’t score anything in Abuja and one other state, although this was not the argument of petitions, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party and Peter Obi of Labour Party.
“Even if there was no election in one State (including the FCT), or even if the election of a State/States (including the FCT) is/are voided, the entire election cannot be voided or canceled.
“In concluding our arguments on this issue, we urge the court to hold that any election where the electorate exercise their plebiscite, there is neither a ‘royal’ ballot nor ‘royal’ voter; and that residents of the FCT do not have any special voting right over residents of any other State of the federation, in a manner similar to the concepts of preferential shareholding in Company Law.
“We urge this court to resolve this issue against the petitioners and in favour of the respondent,” the lawyers said.
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