Candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 presidential election, Peter Obi, has disclosed what he and the party are doing to reclaim their allegedly stolen mandate in court.
Recall the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) confirmed the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential
candidate, Bola Tinubu, as the February 25th presidential election winner.
Labour Party and its candidate, other
political parties and their candidates have since dragged the electoral
commission and APC to court over the said outcome of the polls.
Obi, however, has expressed optimism that he
will still get justice in court even after Tinubu is sworn in on May 29.
It was reported that Pre-trials at the
Presidential Election Tribunal ended on Tuesday, with the trial proper
scheduled to begin on Tuesday, May 30. Petitioners have three weeks to present
their case as opposed to the seven weeks they asked for beginning from May 30
to June 23.
Speaking through his spokesperson, Diran
Onifade, on Wednesday, May 24, Obi expressed confidence in the tribunal, noting
that his lawyers are following up the case in court and would eventually get
him justice.
The former Governor of Anambra State cited
multiple incidences where people were recalled after being sworn into office.
Obi said while they cannot do anything extra,
they will press on with shreds of evidence to prove they won the February 25th
election.
The former Anambra State governor also
debunked statements by the Apapa Lamidi-led faction that his chances were
threatened at the tribunal due to failure to provide a N1.5 million fee to
obtain necessary documents needed as evidence in court from the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC)
“They are suspended. They are out of the system so they don’t know what is going on in the system. All this crap they are talking about does not make sense. They don’t have the right information as to what is going on in the party. We do not owe INEC anything. The court has asked INEC to give us documents. Our lawyers have complied. We have applied. Whatever is meant to be paid has been paid but they don’t know because they are suspended.
"They are not part of the party at this point. In which party event
have you seen them? They are only hopping from TV studio to TV studio. And
claiming who they are not. Our party people that have now been elected, are
they in touch with them? They are using sabotage to even deny these people of
the mandate that elected them. This is what they are busy doing. They are outsiders.
“It is INEC that is owing us documents that
the court said they should give us. We do not owe them any money,” Onifade said
on behalf of the Labour Party candidate.
On what the party is doing actually to ensure
victory in court, he noted: “You cannot do anything extra than just take your
case to court; state your case, bring your evidence, bring your witnesses and
do the right thing, which is what we have been doing.”
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