Dismisses application to disqualify Atiku
The presidential election petition tribunal has ruled that President Muhammadu Buhari was not only qualified but eminently qualified to contest the February 23 presidential election based on his educational qualifications.
The five-man panel led by Justice Mohammed Garba gave the ruling on Wednesday in a petition filed by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the presidential election, Mr. Atiku Abubakar challenging the election of President Buhari on grounds that he did not attach his certificate to his form 001 submitted to INEC to aid his qualification for the said election.
According to Punch, the tribunal held that evidences both oral and documentary proved that Buhari had more than secondary school certificate required to contest the election.
It ruled that the mere fact that Buhari did not attach copies of his certificate to his form 001 submitted to INEC was not enough prove that he was not educated up to secondary school level.
Besides, it noted that there was no law that requires a candidate seeking election into office to attach his certificate to his form 001.
On Atiku’s citizenship question, the tribunal dismissed the argument by the All Progressives Congress (APC) that the PDP presidential candidate was not a Nigerian by birth.
The Guardian reports that the tribunal said its power does not include determining the qualification of a petitioner in an election dispute.
It held that the respondents ought to have filed a cross-petition against the qualification of Abubakar for the February 23 presidential poll and not to use it as a defence.
It would be recalled that Buhari had urged the tribunal to disqualify Abubakar on the grounds that he was not a Nigerian.
According to Buhari and APC, Atiku’s birthplace, Jada, was a Cameroonian territory and not part of Nigeria as 1946 when Atiku was born.
Some other pronouncements made by the tribunal were that petitions are not incompetent because the vice president, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo was not joined as a party to the petition; the petitioners’ lead counsel, Dr. Livy Uzoukwu, has his name on the roll of lawyers who can practice in Nigeria.
It therefore averred that all the documents filed and signed by him in respect of the petition are validly filed.
Besides, it said allegations of the petitioners that security agencies were used to rig elections are incompetent because the individuals and institutions accused were not joined.
