‘Double nomination’: APM closes case after calling one witness in petition against Tinubu

 

The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) has closed its case against President Bola Tinubu’s election, after calling one witness to support its petition.

 

Chichi Ojei, APM’s candidate, had scored 25,961 votes during the February 25 presidential election.

 

The party is contending that Tinubu was improperly sponsored by the All Progressives Congress (APC) since he nominated Kashim Shettima as his vice-presidential candidate for the election.

 

It claims that at the time Shettima accepted to be APC’s vice-presidential candidate, he was still the party’s candidate for Borno central senatorial district.

 

At the court session on Wednesday, the party called its sole witness, Aisha Abubakar, APM’s assistant welfare officer.

 

Led in evidence by Gideon Idiagbonya, APM counsel, Abubakar adopted her witness statement on oath.

 

Under cross-examination by Kemi Pinheiro, INEC lawyer, the witness admitted that she cannot confirm when the electoral commission received the notice of substitution of the candidate for Borno central.

 

Lateef Fagbemi, APC’s lawyer, presented a certified true copy of a supreme court judgement which dismissed a suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against Shettima’s alleged dual nomination.

 

Abubakar confirmed the authenticity of the apex court’s verdict and it was subsequently admitted in evidence despite an objection by the APM’s lawyer.

 

SUIT ADJOURNED TO JULY

On his part, Wole Olanipekun, Tinubu and Shettima’s counsel, made the witness read several relevant paragraphs of the supreme court verdict.

 

The excerpts of the court’s judgment were to establish the frivolity of the petition challenging Tinubu’s election on the grounds of double nomination.

 

After listening to all parties in the suit, Haruna Tsammani, chairman of the panel, ordered the respondents to file their final written addresses within 10 days from Wednesday.

 

He ordered the APM to file its written address within seven days after the respondents’ filing.

 

The court then adjourned further hearing in the suit to July 14.

 

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) could not proceed with its petition due to shortage of time. Consequently, the court adjourned the hearing to Thursday.