The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, is asking the Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja, to declare him the winner of the February 25 poll or order a rerun between him and the President-elect, Bola Tinubu.
In the alternative, he wants the entire election nullified and a fresh one conducted.
These are the key reliefs being sought in the petition filed for him and the PDP at the PEPC secretariat on Tuesday night by their team of lawyers led by Joe Gadzama (SAN).
Listed as respondents in the petition marked: CA/PEPC/05/2023 are the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Tinubu, and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Atiku and the PDP are challenging the election on four grounds.
They are that:
*The election of the 2nd respondent (Tinubu) is invalid by reason of noncompliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022.
*The election of the 2nd respondent Is invalid by reason of corrupt practices.
*The 2nd respondent was not duly elected by a majority of lawful votes cast at the election.
*The 2nd respondent was, at the time of the election, not qualified to contest the election.
They are also praying to the court for the following:
*That it may be determined that the 2nd respondent was not duly elected by the majority of lawful votes cast in the election and therefore the declaration and return of the 2nd respondent by the 1st respondent as the winner of the presidential election conducted on the 25th day of February 2023 is unlawful, wrongful, unconstitutional, undue, null and void and of no effect whatsoever.
*They also want it determined that the return of Tinubu by INEC, was unlawful, having not satisfied the requirements of the Electoral Act 2022 and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) which mandatorily requires that he to scores nothing less than one quarter (25 percent) of the lawful votes cast at the election in each of at least two-thirds of all the states in the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
*That it should be determined that Tinubu was, at the time of the election, not qualified to contest the said election.
*That it Should be determined that Atiku Abubakar, having scored the majority of lawful votes cast at the Presidential election, be returned as the winner of the said election and be sworn in as the duly elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
In the alternative, however, they are asking the court for an order directing INEC to conduct a second election (run-off) between Tinubu and Atiku. As a further alternative,
*That the election to the office of the President of Nigeria held on 25th February 2023 be nullified and a fresh election (re-run) be ordered.