One of APC’s arguments against the petition’s legitimacy is that Obi was not a legitimate member of the Labour Party at the time of the election.
The Labour Party’s (LP) presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, filed a petition, which the All Progressive Congress (APC) is requesting the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal to dismiss.
APC criticized the petition for a variety of reasons.
On the grounds that it is incompetent among other things, it also contested the court’s authority to consider the petition.
One of APC’s arguments against the petition’s legitimacy is that Obi was not a legitimate member of the Labour Party at the time of the election.
According to the APC, Obi was a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) until May 24, 2022, when he was vetted as the party’s presidential candidate in April 2023, refuting his claim that he was a member of the Labour Party.
The APC said that Obi took part in the PDP’s screening process and was given the green light to run for president.
Obi allegedly left the PDP on May 24 in order to allegedly join the Labour Party on May 27.
On May 30, 2022, the Labour Party held its presidential primary, reportedly producing Obi as its nominee. At that time, it was against Section 77(3) of the Electoral Act for him to run in the primary election as a member of the LP.
The APC maintained that Peter Obi wasn’t a member of the Labour Party at the time of his purported sponsorship.
According to the APC, a political party is required under Section 77 (1) (2) and (3) of the Electoral Act 2022 to keep a record and make it accessible to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) no later than 30 days before the date set for the party primaries, congresses, and convention.
On Thursday, May 26, 2022, Peter Obi resigned from the PDP, according to the APC, and the following day, on May 27, 2022, he joined the Labour Party.
The first petitioner was chosen as the candidate the second petitioner wanted to support in the general election after its presidential primary was held on May 30, 2022, according to the APC.
The party further argued that Section 77(3) of the Electoral Act of 2022 mandated that the Labour Party submit its comprehensive list of members to INEC 30 days prior to its presidential primary, which means the list of members must have been delivered to the first respondent by April 30, 2022, at the latest.
Peter Obi was still a PDP member as of April 30, 2022, hence his name could not have been on the list of party members provided to INEC by the Labour Party.
President-elect Bola Tinubu of the APC, who won the election on February 25, is being challenged by the Labour Party and Peter Obi on suspicions of, among other things, non-qualification and non-compliance.
