The Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal has dismissed the petition filed by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) challenging the eligibility of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, to contest the 2023 general election.
The APC had argued that Obi’s membership of the Labour Party was incompetent.
Justice Abba Mohammed, a member of the five-member panel that delivered the lead judgment, stated that membership in a political party is an internal matter.
President Bola Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima had asserted that they had the legal standing (locus standi) to file the petition on the grounds that Obi joined the Labour Party just a few days before the election, instead of the mandatory 30 days.
However, the court ruled that it was not within the purview of Tinubu and Shettima to challenge Obi’s candidacy.
Mohammed said, “The issue of membership of a political party is an internal party affair.”
