**Date:** September 6, 2023
The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal has dismissed the petition against Bola Tinubu’s running mate, Sen. Kashim Shettima, ruling in favor of the All Progressives Congress (APC). The petitioner’s case centered on the alleged invalid nomination of Shettima as Tinubu’s running mate, claiming a breach of the provisions of the Electoral Act and Constitution.
The tribunal held that the issue of qualification or nomination of any candidate is a pre-election matter and should have been brought before the Federal High Court. Even if the tribunal had jurisdiction on the nomination issue, the matter was deemed statute-barred and incompetent, as the petitioner failed to file the suit within the required 14 days after the cause of action.
Section 84(3) of the Electoral Act was cited, stating that a political party must not impose nomination qualifications or disqualifications outside those in the Constitution. The applicable provisions for qualification and disqualification in an election petition are sections 131 and 137 of the Constitution.
The tribunal also ruled that the petitioner, the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), lacked locus standi (the legal right to bring an action) to challenge the nomination of a candidate from another political party, in this case, Sen. Shettima of the APC. The issue of double nomination against Sen. Shettima was considered settled by the Supreme Court in a previous case and could not be relitigated.
Furthermore, it was established that political parties are not required to conduct fresh primaries to produce a new Vice-Presidential candidate, as the choice of a running mate is at the sole discretion of the Presidential candidate, per section 142 of the Constitution.
The tribunal also concluded that the 5th Respondent, Aminu Masari, should not have been joined as a party, as there was no claim against him. In summary, the petition was deemed devoid of merit, an abuse of the court process, and was dismissed.
