[1/2]Bola Tinubu, President of Nigeria arrives at the closing session of the New Global Financial Pact Summit on Friday, June 23, 2023 in Paris, France. Lewis Joly/Pool acquire license rights via Portal/File Photo
- Tinubu won the disputed presidential election in February
- The court rejects the challenge of the third-placed Obi
- Runner-up Abubakar’s petition is also expected to be dismissed
- Little enthusiasm among the population for Tinubu after low voter turnout
ABUJA, Sept 6 (Portal) – Nigeria’s presidential election tribunal on Wednesday rejected an opposition challenge to Bola Tinubu’s victory in February’s disputed vote, following a pattern seen in previous election years in Africa’s most populous country.
Nigeria, which returned to democracy in 1999 after three decades of almost continuous military rule and has a history of electoral fraud, has failed to successfully challenge the results of a presidential election.
Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party and Peter Obi of the Labor Party, who came second and third respectively, had asked the court to declare the election invalid due to irregularities.
Justice Haruna Tsammani read out a lengthy judgment on behalf of the tribunal’s five-judge panel, rejecting Obi’s petition point by point. He read Atiku’s petition, which should also be dismissed.
Obi’s petition was “baseless” and “did not present sufficient credible evidence” to support his claims of irregularities, Tsammani said.
European observers said in June that the elections were marred by problems such as operational disruptions and a lack of transparency that diminished public trust in the process.
However, there was little sign of a surge in popular opposition in the elections, and Tinubu was accepted by the international community as Nigeria’s legitimate leader. When the tribunal announced its verdict, Tinubu was in India preparing to attend the G20 summit there.
Atiku and Obi can appeal to the country’s Supreme Court to overturn the tribunal’s decision. Any appeal must be completed within 60 days of the date of the court’s judgment.
While the tribunal’s decision was positive for Tinubu, it is unlikely to generate any particular euphoria or momentum for the president after the voter turnout saw a record 29%.
In a country of more than 200 million people, 87 million of whom were registered to vote, Tinubu received just 8.79 million votes, the fewest of any president since the return to democracy, limiting goodwill towards him.
Tinubu inherited from his predecessor Muhammadu Buhari weak economic growth, high unemployment, the highest inflation rate in two decades, record debt, massive oil theft that hit government revenues and widespread insecurity.
He has introduced a series of reforms, including eliminating a popular but costly gasoline subsidy and currency controls, but faced resistance from unions, which staged a two-day general strike this week and are planning another.
writing by MacDonald Dzirutwe and Estelle Shirbon; Editing by Alison Williams and Bill Berkrot
Our standards: The Thomson Portal Trust Principles.
Acquire license rights, opens new tab