By Jude-Ken Ojinnaka
Former Vice President and presidential candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar on Thursday vowed to challenge at the Supreme Court, the outcome of the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal judgement which affirmed the victory of President Bola Tinubu in the February 25, 2023, presidential election.
Atiku said he was not new to legal battles and will continue to explore the judiciary for respite, stressing that the judgement is bereft of substantial justice.
While addressing a world press conference at the Peoples Democratic Party headquarters in Abuja, Atiku Abubakar said his resolve to challenge the tribunal judgement was borne out of his commitment to entrench a credible democratic process.
“It is my conviction that the electoral process in Nigeria should be devoid of untidy manipulations and the outcome of every election should be a perfect reflection of the wishes of the electorates.
“I believe such is the only way through which our democracy can have a manifest expression of its true meaning. Whether I prevail in this quest or not, the record of my effort in ensuring an order of credible elections in Nigeria shall remain for the future generations to emulate,” the former vice president said.
Atiku, who came second behind Tinubu in the election, said the tribunal judgement affirming Tinubu’s victory failed to restore confidence.
“Though the judgement of yesterday is respected, it is a judgement I refused to accept. I refused to accept the judgement because I believe it is bereft of substantial justice,” Atiku said.
He, however, maintained that the tribunal judgement will not “destroy my confidence in the judiciary”.
“Consequently, I have asked my lawyers to activate my constitutionally guaranteed rights of appeal to the higher court, which in this instance, is the Supreme Court of Nigeria.”
Recall that on Wednesday September 6, the tribunal threw out the case of Atiku, who is the PDP presidential candidate, and his Labour Party counterpart, Peter Obi, and upheld the victory of Tinubu.
Both Atiku and Obi rejected Wednesday’s judgment of the tribunal affirming the election of Tinubu. The legal adviser to the Labour Party, Kehinde Edun, vowed to challenge the judgment at the Supreme Court.
The PEPT which began sitting at 9.40am at the Court of Appeal, Abuja, ruled that the petition filed by Atiku and Obi and their parties had no merit and unanimously upheld Tinubu’s electoral victory in the February 25 presidential election.
The five-member panel took turns to dismiss the petitions presented by Atiku and Obi against the declaration of Tinubu as the winner of the presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission on March 1, 2023.
The judgment was delivered by the Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Haruna Tsammani, assisted by other members of the panel which includes Justices Stephen Adah, Monsurat Bolaji-Yusuf, Moses Ugo, and Abba Mohammed.