The embattled Chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, stood in for the party’s presidential candidate, Peter at the ongoing sitting of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja
At 9:34 a.m., when Justice Haruna Tsammani, the chairman of the tribunal, asked for the introduction of the petitioners and respondents, the embattled Chairman brought himself forward in Obi’s place.
Kashim Shettima, the vice president, and Abdullahi Ganduje, the chairman of the APC, declared themselves to be the first responders.
Obi’s absence at the tribunal came as a surprise to many as he has been seen a couple of times at the court before today, a day the tribunal is expected to make its final judgement on the outcome of the 2023 presidential election.
Recall that Atiku Abubakar of the PDP and Obi are challenging the outcome of the election which Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress won according to the Independent Electoral Commission.
INEC declared Tinubu the winner with a total of 8,794,726 votes, Atiku came in second with a total of 6,984,520 votes, and Obi came in third with a total of 6,101,533. But they want the tribunal to nullify the outcome of the election and order for a rerun.
The chief justice of the tribunal, Justice Haruna Tsammani is expected to issue the tribunal’s declaration later today with the assistance of Justices Stephen Adah, Monsurat Bolaji-Yusuf, Moses Ugo, and Abba Mohammed.
With the filing numbers CA/PEPC/03/2023, CA/PEPC/05/2023, and CA/PEPC/04/2023, the petitions were submitted to the court by the respective candidates for the Labour Party, the PDP; and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM).
