Nwajiuba, a chieftain of the APC and one of its presidential aspirants, alleged that the primary election that produced Tinubu as the 2023 presidential candidate was marred by corruption and massive vote buying
By Ishaya Ibrahim, News Editor
All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has scaled another hurdle in multiple lawsuits seeking to nullify his presidential candidacy.
A suit filed by party man and former Education Minister who also contested the presidential primary of the APC, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to void the nomination of Tinubu as the APC presidential flagbearer.
But in a short ruling, Justice Zainab Abubakar held that she lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit.
According to her, the suit was statute-barred, having been filed outside the 14 days allowed under Section 285(9) of the Constitution.
The judgment was on the suit numbered FHC/ABJ/CS/1114/2022 with Tinubu, the APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as defendants.
Nwajiuba, a chieftain of the APC and one of its presidential aspirants, alleged that the primary election that produced Tinubu as the 2023 presidential candidate was marred by corruption and massive vote buying, insisting that majority of the delegates were bought over with dollars.
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To strengthen his allegation, the ex-minister who polled only one vote at the primary election that was held on June 8, included in his proof of evidence- a video recording showing the immediate past minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, decrying that delegates at the APC primary sold their votes.
He also queried Tinubu’s source of income and his educational qualifications.
Nwajiuba asked the court to declare that Tinubu “who had previously sworn an affidavit in the INEC nomination form declaring that he lost his primary and secondary school documents and benefitted therefrom, cannot in a later affidavit deny and abandon same facts deposed in the previous affidavit and thus falsely contradicting his academic qualifications.”
He attached to the suit copies of affidavits Tinubu deposed to while he was the governorship candidate of the Alliance for Democracy, in Lagos state.
