Lakes, March 4. Seven Nigerian states ruled by the main opposition force, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), yesterday withdrew their legal challenge to the victory of the ruling Bola Ahmed Tinubu party in the February 25 presidential election, confirmed today. today to EFE from judicial sources.
The states of Adamawa, Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Sokoto and Taraba had filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court, the country’s highest court, on February 28, a day before the results were announced.
“Yes, the seven states have withdrawn the lawsuit. His attorney, Mike Ozekhome, on Friday sent a notice to stay the case to the Supreme Court,” court sources told EFE on Saturday.
“States did not provide reasons for the withdrawal in the notification, but we understand that since the case was filed before the collation of results was complete, they believe the facts prevailed over them,” they added.
The seven states – at first it was revealed there were six, but Taraba joined – contended that the conduct of the elections violated provisions of the Elections Act.
According to excerpts from the trial published by local media, which appoints the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the states wanted the results to be declared ‘invalid, null and void’, which would happen for the first time in Nigeria, if the court was right.
The plaintiffs argued that INEC’s declaration of Tinubu as the winner was not in accordance with the law, after the electronic transmission of polling station results could not be carried out completely, which the electoral body attributed to “technical glitches”. .
It was the first time that Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa (more than 213 million inhabitants), used this technology during general elections, adopted to prevent possible irregularities.
Tinubu, 70 and a candidate for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party, was declared the winner last Wednesday with 36% of the vote (8.79 million votes), according to INEC figures.
Atiku Abubakar, 76, PDP candidate, came second with 29% of the vote (6.98 million), while third place was occupied by Peter Obi, 61, Labor Party (LP) candidate, who garnered 25% of the votes. votes (6.1 million).
INEC announced the results after the two opposition parties had already called for the cancellation and re-run of the elections accusing the electorate of fraud.
Obi and Abubakar said on Thursday they would appeal the results in court, although they did not provide further details.
Tinubu will succeed incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari, in power since 2015, who did not seek re-election after serving the second consecutive four-year term allowed by the Constitution.
The president-elect, who ruled influential southern Lagos State from 1999 to 2007, inherits a nation plagued by growing insecurity in parts of the country, with constant attacks by criminal gangs who kidnap civilians against a lucrative ransom, jihadist groups and independence rebels.
It will also have to deal with the devaluation of the local currency (naira), galloping inflation and high unemployment, as Nigeria stands out as Africa’s top oil producer and the continent’s largest economy. ECE
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