Bola Tinubu, the President-Elect, claims that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) nominee, Atiku Abubakar, has always lost his bid to rule the country since 1993.
Tinubu asked Atiku not to see his loss at the last election as strange, arguing that it would have been a miracle for the PDP and its candidate to win in view of the crisis rocking the party before and during the elections.
The President-Elect said these in his response to the petition filed by Atiku and the PDP before the Presidential Election Petition Court in which they are praying to be declared the winner or for the court to order a rerun.
He noted that Atiku was without a stable political platform and has lost majority of his key supporters, in view of his habit of jumping from one political party to another.
Tinubu equally said that Atiku’s emergence as PDP’s candidate fueled the crisis in the party, resulting in five of its sitting governors resolving to work against him and ensure he lost.
The President-Elect’s response was filed by his team of lawyers led by Wole Olanipekun.
The President -Elect described the petition as not only frivolous but an abuse of court process.
He stated the PDP having earlier filed a suit at the Supreme Court, through some of its governors, demanding the cancellation of the election, cannot maintain two cases on the same issue in different courts at the same time.
He stated that on February 28, the PDP through its governors in Adamawa, Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo and Sokoto states filed a suit at the Supreme Court, demanding among others, that the February 25 presidential election be cancelled.
He also faulted the competence of the petition on the grounds that Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) and Rabiu kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) were excluded despite the fact that the petitioners were contesting the results from the states won by the LP and NNPP.
The petitioners complained about outcome of the election in Abia, Anambra, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Enugu, Imo, Kano, Plateau and Lagos states, and Tinubu was not declared as the overall winner in any of the these states.
The response stated that Tinubu cannot be made to defend an infraction allegedly committed in any of the states afore-mentioned.
The response from Tinubu’s team ended with a query on Atiku’s petition on the result of elections in all the states where he, Obi won the election, including but not limited to Adamawa, Bauchi, Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Gombe, Yobe, Sokoto, Osun, Kebbi and Katsina states, without making themselves co-respondents to the petition; whereas, under Section 133(2) of the Electoral Act, 2022, a party whose election is being challenged shall be made a respondent.”