The Presidential Election case Court has begun hearing arguments on the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) case against President Bola Tinubu.
Haruna Tsammani, the leader of the five-member bench, has begun reading the judgement.
According to Gistlover, APM claims that Vice President Kashim Shettima was not qualified to compete as Tinubu’s running mate in the February 25 presidential election.
His nomination, according to the party, breached Section 35 of the Electoral Act 2022 and other constitutional provisions.
The party asks the court to overturn the APC’s electoral results.
Tsammani highlighted applications filed by respondents on Wednesday demanding that certain passages of APM’s petition be thrown out.
He clarifies that the Court of Appeal is sitting.
Tsammani highlights the respondents’ argument that the APM cannot introduce a new issue or fact after the petition was filed.
INEC had complained against APM’s introduction of new facts during the hearing of its petition.
Tsammani says it is clear that the claim of qualification or non-qualification is a pre-election matter.
The judge says the issue of disqualification raised by the APM in its petition ought to have been ventilated at the Federal High Court. He says the presidential election court does not have jurisdiction to hear it.
Tsammani also highlights the respondents’ objection that the issue raised by APM ought to have been raised at the Federal High Court within 180 days from 27 July 2022 when Mr Shettima was the APC’s vice-presidential candidate. The window for litigation on such issue, the respondents say, lapsed in January 2023.
The issue of qualification of a candidate of a political party is not an all-comers’ affair, Tsammani added.
He adds that it is not the business of a political party is not the business of another political party.
