Mr. Peter Obi After losing the keenly contested February 2023 presidential election, Mr. Peter Obi of the Labour Party and the majority of his supporters were of thought that he was the duly elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and not the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu who was declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
As a civil matter related to the election, Mr. Peter Obi and his team had done the right thing by approaching the court of law and seek for redress, if available to them.
As the case proceeds, whether you like Bola Ahmed Tinubu or not; whether you like Peter Obi or not; whether you like Atiku Abubakar or not; their supporters have respectively entertained the Public to like every one of them, and with that affection, this truth is being told.
I have written many pieces on the Opera News Hub anticipating the electoral defeat suffered by Mr. Peter Obi during the 2023 general elections. The defeat was just too glaring and inevitable.
Today, it is with love I write to inform every lover of Mr. Peter Obi and those that are not in support of his presidential ambition that Mr. Peter Obi is not coming to become Nigerian President, as regards the 2023 presidential election, the winner has already been pronounced by the INEC.
Two tangible reasons have pointed to the opinion that Mr. Peter is not coming, rather he may go and prepare himself for the future election either to re-present himself or have a candidate of his endorsement.
One, Section 65 subsection 2 (b) of the 1999 Constitution as amended states that "A person shall be qualified for election under subsection 1 of this section if: he is a member of a political party and is sponsored by that party.
Before you come up with an assertion that "what is he saying?" Or "Is he not a member of the Labour Party?", Please, endeavor to be calmed and read forth.
Section 77 of the 2022 Electoral Act, as amended mandate every political party to submit its party membership register at, the latest 30 days before the primaries of the party are conducted.
Unfortunately, on May 27th, 2022 Mr. Peter Obi dumped the People's Democratic Party (PDP) and joined the Labour Party. Labour Party conducted its presidential primaries on May 30th, 2022 and Mr. Peter Obi emerged as the winner of the primaries.
One rule is violated, and that is either Labour Party had failed to obey the constitution by submitting its party membership register latest 30 days before its primaries, so it had the opportunity to cut corners and inject the name of Mr. Peter Obi as a member of the party or the membership register of the Labour Party was submitted at the appropriate time, and Mr. Peter Obi's name was never included.
Amazingly, there is a price for either of the two possibilities and it is either Labour Party is disqualified and ought not to have taken part in the election, for case 1; or for case 2, Mr. Peter Obi is disqualified from being the presidential the candidate of the party.
The common price is that the votes cast for Mr. Peter Obi under the platform of the Labour Party are wasted, and so the case before the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal is struck out, possibly with fines against the Labour Party and Mr. Peter Obi.
Secondly, was Mr. Peter Obi a member of any political party, as at the time the 2023 presidential election was conducted?
Really that Mr. Peter Obi had resigned his membership of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), and was not a registered member of the Labour Party when the election was conducted as provided by the constitution, the court may rely on this to disqualify Mr. Peter Obi for violating a section of the Constitution which requires that a candidate must be a member of a political party and must be sponsored by the party before he stands eligible to contest an elective position.
Category: Forum
Tag: Peter Obi Labour Party Presidential Election Petition Tribunal
Written by Omooba Alekuwodo (omoobaalekuwodo)
Published 8/17/2023 1:26:13 PM