Prior to being sworn in, the tribunal judgement should be finalised, according to Kenneth Okonkwo of PEPT

Kenneth Okonkwo, a senior member of the Labour Party, LP, criticised the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal’s decision over Kashim Shettima’s multiple nomination.

Before candidates are sworn in, according to Okonkwo, the election petitions’ judgement should be finished.

He questioned why Shettima’s letter to the All Progressives Congress, APC, would be relied upon by the tribunal given that the party had not nominated him for the vice presidential and Borno Central senatorial positions.

According to OBASANJO NEWS24, the Allied Peoples Movement (APM)’s lawsuit seeking Shettima’s disqualification was dismissed by the tribunal.

By designating Shettima as his vice presidential candidate for the election, Tinubu, according to the party, was inappropriately supported by the APC.

On July 14, when Shettima formally accepted the nomination to run for vice president, the opposition party asserted that he was still the APC candidate for the Borno Central Senatorial District.

The PEPT, however, decided that the issue lacked jurisdiction because it was a pre-election affair when it made its decision on Wednesday.

Okonkwo responded by claiming that the letter would have been written after Shettima was selected.

Okonkwo on X made the following statement: “Just listened to the initial judgement of the PEPC and saw how the court relied on a purported letter of withdrawal written to APC by Shettima on the 6th of July,2023, to indicate an intention not to be doubly nominated for both the position of Borno Central Senatorial seat and that of the Vice-President.

“Perhaps the court overlooked the fact that Tinubu announced publicly at Daura on July 10, 2023, that he had picked Shettima to run for vice president even though Shettima was not yet aware of the decision.

“How can someone withdraw his Senate nomination due to his nomination for the Vice-Presidential seat when he was unaware that he would be nominated for the position of the Vice-President?

“This is why many people think the letter was prepared after the Respondents recognised they were in trouble for violating the prohibition against double nomination.

Evidence must be evaluated logically. Because of this, the outcome of any election petition judgement must be reached before candidates are sworn in.