The Supreme Court has announced that it will deliver its judgment on Friday, May 26, regarding the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The PDP’s appeal seeks to invalidate the joint ticket of Bola Tinubu and Kashim Shettima, the President-elect and Vice President-elect of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
A panel of five justices, led by Justice John Okoro, fixed the date after the parties’ lawyers presented their arguments and submitted their final processes. The appellant’s counsel, Joe Agim (SAN), urged the court to allow the appeal and overturn the judgments of the Court of Appeal and the Federal High Court, which had questioned the PDP’s right to challenge another party’s candidate nomination process. On the other hand, lawyers representing the respondents – the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Tinubu, Shettima, and the APC – prayed for the dismissal of the appeal, affirming the decisions of the lower courts. Babatunde Ogala (SAN), who appeared for the APC, further argued that the case should be struck out due to the expiration of the 180-day timeframe stipulated by law for hearing pre-election cases.
The PDP initiated the lawsuit on July 28, 2022, at the Federal High Court in Abuja, contesting the validity of the Tinubu/Shettima ticket for the 2023 presidential election. The party contended, among other things, that Shettima’s nomination as Tinubu’s running mate violated several provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022 (as amended). They argued that Shettima’s dual nominations as a vice-presidential candidate and a candidate for the Borno Central Senatorial seat were in contravention of the law.
Justice Ekwo of the Federal High Court dismissed the suit on January 13, ruling that the PDP lacked the requisite locus standi to bring the action. Dissatisfied, the PDP appealed the decision in Case No. CA/ABJ/CV/108/2023, urging the Court of Appeal to overturn the Federal High Court’s judgment. On March 25, in a unanimous decision, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal upheld the dismissal, concurring that the PDP had failed to establish its locus standi.
Justice James Abundaga, who delivered the lead judgment, supported the arguments put forward by the respondents’ lawyers, including Thomas Ojo from the law firm of Prince Lateef Fagbemi. He described the PDP as a busybody intervening in internal matters concerning the APC.
