The National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Ajibola Basiru has described the petitions challenging President Bola Tinubu’s election in this year’s presidential election as hopeless and a waste of time.
Recall that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had on March 1, four days after the presidential election held on February 25, announced Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the election and president-elect.
According to the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, Tinubu polled 8,794,726 votes to beat Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who came second with 6,984,520, and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), who placed third with 6,101,533.
The INEC Chairman stressed that by that score, Tinubu had met the first constitutional requirement of garnering the highest votes among all the candidates. He said he also scored over 25 percent of the votes cast in 30 states, which are more than the 24 states that are constitutionally required.
Basiru, who made a live appearance on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics responding to speculations that the APC is gearing up for a rerun election, said that he was not supposed to make comments on a matter that is subjudice.
“But since you have asked me,” he added, “from my knowledge of electoral law in Nigeria and having read the petitions and also being part of the proceedings, I would say that all the petitions against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s election are hopeless and nobody needs to even waste time in dismissing same.”
“They are hopeless petitions, terribly hopeless.”
The National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Ajibola Basiru also described individuals reportedly kicking against the election of Dr Umar Ganduje as the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as ignorant.
He said by Article 13 of the party’s Constitution the National Executive Council is empowered to act in between a convention to elect or remove new leaders.
“Dr Umar Ganduje was elected by the NEC by unanimous votes. The National Executhve Council elected the National Chairman at the Congress Hall of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel.”
“People should be informed about what happened at the NEC. The first resolution adopted before my election put the National Chairman in North West and the zoning formula for the party. This came before the election. What we have done is that the party NEC has acted according to the powers enshrined in the party’s constitution,” he said.