Obi reiterates 2023 presidential ballot dampens the morale of youths
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), has reiterated this year’s presidential vote is the worst in Nigeria’s history and a setback in the democratic process.
“We have seen probably what I consider the worst election in our recent history because of the Electoral law [Act] of 2022 which gave so much hope and the huge expenditure we put into technology,” he said on Channels Television.
“Do you know what it means to spend over $1 billion? So, there was so much that was promised and then we went back to what it used to be. For me, that is very devastating.”
In Obi’s view, the presidential election has further dampened the morale of youths who had so much hope in the process, but he is “on course” to get justice at Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal (PEPT), per Tribune.
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LP Campaign touts Obi’s pan-Nigeria legal team
Obi has dismissed recruiting only South East lawyers to challenge in court the declaration of Bola Tinubu as the winner of the presidential election held on February 25.
The legal fireworks also involve the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) which the LP named a respondent in its case before the PEPT sitting in the Court of Appeal.
The rebuttal came in the wake of allegation Obi’s lawyers who on March 13 met with INEC National Chairman Mahmood Yakubu are mainly South Easterners.
The INEC announced on March 1 that Tinubu, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), won 8,794,726 votes, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 6,984,520 votes, and Obi 6,101,533.
Atiku and Obi swiftly rejected the result, each claiming at separate press conferences the election was marred by violence and unprecedented rigging.
Each man took his case to the tribunal days later.
Obi’s lawyers
Obi engaged at least 20 Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) to challenge both the process and the result of the election.
LP sources told The PUNCH the legal team is drawn from different chambers across the country to reclaim Obi’s stolen mandate.
LP Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) chief spokesman Yunusa Tanko denied claim most of the lawyers are Igbo, saying the initial list that generated the comment was incomplete.
A second batch of the list he released on Tuesday shows that although the legal team that met with the INEC on Monday was led by Livy Uzoukwu, SAN, the PCC legal directorate is headed by Victoria Shanti, from Adamawa.
“Our head of department for the legal team itself is Victoria Shanti from Adamawa State. She is supported by the Katsina-based legal icon, Yakubu Bawa, who was also among the 60-member team that visited INEC on Monday,” Tanko explained.
“When you look closely at their names, you will discover that Obi has a diverse list of legal team.”
Other members of the legal team include:
- J. S. Okutepa
- Olumide Ayeni
- Olalekan Ojo
- Audu Anuga
- Agbo Madaki
- Nguemu Uja
- Dayo Ashomibare
- F. N. Ogbe
- Precious Amukpo
- David Agashua
- L. Michaelson
- Olusola Ebisemi
