Why we upheld Shettima’s nomination

On Wednesday, the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal dismissed the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) petition.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shetima, and the All Progressives Congress (APC) raised objections to the case, which the court’s presiding justice, Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani, decided lacked the merit and competence to be decided.

Tsammani claimed, among other things, that the disqualification issue at the heart of the petition should have been brought before a Federal High Court rather than a Tribunal since it was pre-election-related.

The Tribunal stated that because this is a pre-election affair, it lacks the authority to get involved in the disqualification debate or to contest Tinubu, Shetima, and APC victory at the presidential election

Additionally, he declared that because the petition was submitted after the legal deadline, it was no longer valid.

The APM’s presidential candidate, who was a necessary contender for the presidency alongside Tinubu, was not included in the petition, according to him, hence the APM lacked locus standi to bring the petition.

APM took issue with Shetima’s dual nominations for a Borno senatorial race and later as Tinubu’s running partner.

For allegedly breaking sections 131 and 137 of the 1999 Constitution in the methods and means one Kabiru Masari opted out as Tinubu’s running mate and Shetima brought in, it urged that the Tribunal oust both Tinubu and Shetima.