By Jon Egie
Vice President Ksahim Shettima, on Wednesday, called on the Presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party, Peter Obi, and the Allied Peoples Movement’s, Chichi Ojei, to join the Tinubu administration in building a new Nigeria.
“On behalf of my principal, I wish to call on Wazirin Adamawa, Atiku Abubakar, and Mr. Peter Obi, my very good friend, to join hands with us to build a new Nigeria,” Shettima said shortly after the five Justices on the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal unanimously upheld President Bola Tinubu as the winner of the February 25 presidential election.
Reading the verdict earlier, Justice Haruna Tsammani, who led the five-person panel said “This petition accordingly lacks merit. I affirm the return of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the duly elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The parties are to bear their cost.”
Thereafter, the four other Justices unanimously took turns to dismiss the petitions presented by the PDP’s Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party’s Peter Obi, challenging Tinubu’s emergence as President, as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission on March 1, 2023.
In the 12-hour session, the Court dismissed the three consolidated petitions of CAPPC/03/2023, CAPPC/04/2023, and CAPPC/05/2023 on several grounds, including a lack of merit.
Shettima also urged the opponents to bury the hatchet and work for the common goal of nation-building.
He said “This is a time for unity. It is for us to sheath the sword and work for the greatness of our nation.”
Credit: PUNCH