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2023 Election: Court reserves judgment in PDP’s case against Tinubu, Shettima

On an appeal brought by the Peoples Democratic Party against the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, and his Vice President-elect, Kashim Shettima, the Court of Appeal in Abuja has deferred making a decision until a later time.

In an appeal with the case number CA/ABJ/CV/108/2023, the PDP is requesting that Judge Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court of Abuja reverse his January 13 ruling.

Previously, the party had filed a lawsuit with the case number FHC/ABJ/CS/1734/2022 to challenge Tinubu and Shettima’s selection as the APC’s presidential and vice presidential candidates.

Judge Ekwo, however, dismissed the lawsuit on the grounds that the PDP lacked the legal authority to interfere with the APC’s candidate selection process.

The party contested the legitimacy of the APC candidates’ ticket for the 2023 presidential election, stating that Shettima had received two nominations. They also claimed that Shettima’s nomination as a senatorial candidate for Borno Central and vice president was illegal.

The party cited the Election Act of 2022’s Sections 29(1), 33, 35, and 84(1)(2) as being broken by Shettima’s selection as the running mate (as amended).

The court of appeal’s panel, which was led by Justice Haruna Tsammani, deferred judgment in the case after the attorneys for the parties adopted their briefs and delivered their closing arguments.

Attorneys for the PDP pleaded with the judge to accept the appeal and give the requested reliefs, while those for the APC, Tinubu, and Shettima, Thomas Ojo, asked the judge to reject the appeal.

Ojo contended that because the 180 days required by the constitution to hear pre-election issues had passed, the court could no longer use its original jurisdiction under Section 15 of the court’s Act to consider the case on merit.

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