The Supreme Court has dismissed the suit seeking the disqualification of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Kashim Shettima as
Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC).
A-five member panel of Supreme Court held this Friday morning that the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) lacked the locus standi to institute the suit.
The court held that the PDP is not a member of the APC.
The PDP had in a suit filed on July 28, 2022, asked for the disqualification of Tinubu and Shettima from contesting the 2023 presidential election on the grounds that Shettima’s nomination as Tinubu’s running mate amounted to double nomination, in breach of the provisions of Sections 29(1), 33, 35 and 84{1)}(2)} of the Electoral Act, 2022 as amended.
The party had argued that Shettima’s nomination to contest the position of vice president and Borno Central senatorial seat breached the law.
The suit was earlier dismissed by an Abuja Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal.
PDP’s prayer is that the Supreme Court should reverse the Court of Appeal judgment, which held that the party failed to establish its locus standi, noting that Shettima’s disqualification for double nomination could halt the swearing-in of Tinubu as President since they ran a combined ticket.
Lawyer to PDP Joe Agim had earlier told the court that APC earlier admitted Shettima’s double nomination at the Court of Appeal.
“There’s a punishment for double nomination,” Agim argued.
The APC in its argument noted that the PDP lacked the locus standi to file the suit, which was challenging the political party’s decision and its nomination of candidates for the polls.
The APC also argued that the issue in contention concerned the internal affairs of the political party.
The party further argued that after the 180 days, it was too late for the PDP to file a case on the subject with the Supreme Court.
However, in its rejoinder, the PDP cited Uche Nwosu’s precedent and contended that the number of days was irrelevant since, as the Supreme Court had previously stated, “time does not run” when considering cases of double nomination.
The PDP requested that the Supreme Court exercise its authority and assume jurisdiction over the case to overturn the lower courts’ earlier rulings and reassess the parties’ arguments.
The PDP claimed that Shettima’s nominations for vice president and senator are against the terms of the Electoral Act.
The party asserted that Shettima’s Senate nomination had not been withdrawn from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at the time he was nominated as Tinubu’s running mate, arguing that running for two posts at once was unlawful.