The Supreme Court, on Thursday, affirmed the election of President Bola Tinubu with the rejection of the election appeals filed by the Peoples Democratic Party Presidential candidtate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi of the Labour Party.
Atiku and Obi’s appeals commenced on May 8 and were concluded on Thursday, October 26, with the Supreme Court effectively ending their dreams of overturning Tinubu’s election victory, a process that spanned 171 days.
In the lead judgment delivered by the Chairman of the seven-man panel, Justice Inyang Okoro, the apex court refused to consider the academic records of the President obtained from the Chicago State University, which Atiku sought to tender as fresh evidence to prove his allegation of certificate forgery against President Tinubu.
The other justices on the panel-Uwani Aji, Mohammed Garba, Ibrahim Saulawa, Adamu Jauro, Abubakar Tijjani, and Emmanuel Agim, agreed with the lead judgment dismissing Atiku and Obi’s appeals.
Meanwhile President Tinubu welcomed the Supreme Court judgement and sought the support of Nigerians, promising to exceed expectations in service delivery in the remaining years of his administration.
The President lauded the judiciary for withstanding “the fusillade of pressure and attempts at intimidation by some political actors.”
In a statement he signed, Mr. President He said, “The victory of today has further energised and strengthened my commitment to continue to serve all Nigerians of all political persuasions, tribes, and faiths with honour and total respect for the diverse opinions and uniting values of our citizens.
“Our Renewed Hope Agenda for a greater and prosperous Nigeria has further gained momentum, and I will continue to work from morning to night, every single day, to build a country that meets our collective yearnings and aspirations. We are all members of one household, and this moment demands that we continue to work and build our country together.’’
Atiku and Obi had faulted the September 6 ruling of the Presidential Election Petition Court, which prompted the move to the Apex Court in the country.
The PEPC headed by Justice Haruna Tsammani had dismissed their petitions and upheld Tinubu’s electoral victory in the February 25 presidential poll.
Atiku had filed 35 grounds of appeal while Obi filed 51 at the Supreme Court.
To prove the allegation that Tinubu was not qualified to contest the presidential poll, Atiku had asked an Illinois Chicago district court to order the CSU to release the President’s academic records.
The former vice-president accused Tinubu of falsifying the CSU diploma of Bachelor of Science in Business Administration awarded in 1979 that he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission for the election.
He demanded a copy of any diploma issued by CSU in 1979, a copy of the diploma the CSU gave to Tinubu in 1979, and copies of diplomas with the same font, seal, signatures, and wording awarded to other students that are similar to what CSU awarded to him in 1979.
Atiku’s application was opposed by Tinubu’s lawyers, citing privacy concerns. Still, the United States court ordered the release of the ex-Lagos State governor’s academic records, which Atiku filed in support of his election petition appeal at the Supreme Court.
However, the hope of the former vice-president was dashed by the court, which held that the constitutionally allowed period for such evidence to be admitted had since elapsed.
It stressed that section 285(5) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, expressly gave the PEPC a 180-day lifespan to hear and determine in writing, all petitions arising from the presidential election.
According to the apex court, considering that the PEPC, which sat as the court of first instance in the presidential dispute, had since delivered its verdict, no provision of the law would allow the admittance of any other evidence at the appeal stage.
