The presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has said that the party’s Friday loss at the Supreme Court of its suit challenging the double nomination of Vice President-elect Kashim Shettima does not affect his chances of reclaiming his stolen mandate at the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC).
Atiku said this in a statement shortly after the apex court affirmed that President-elect Bola Tinubu and his running mate, Shettima, were eligible to contest the presidential election held on February 25.
The judgement was pronounced by a five-man panel of justices in an appeal marked SC/CV/501/2023 in which the PDP sought Tinubu’s disqualification on grounds of the double nomination of Shettima.
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The main opposition party contended that Shettima was nominated twice, both for the Borno Central Senatorial seat and for the Vice Presidential position, breaching provisions of Sections 29(1), 33, 35 and 84(1) and (2) of the Electoral Act, 2022.
In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court justices upheld the concurrent decisions of the Court of Appeal and the Federal High Court in Abuja, which earlier dismissed the case.
Reacting, Atiku said the dismissal of the case “is not a setback to my quest for justice”.
The PDP flagbearer said his legal team “are primed to robustly prove that the election of February 25 was fraudulent, did not comply with the constitutional requirements and the electoral guidelines of the Independent National Electoral Commission, and that the announced winner was not even qualified to contest the poll”.
“The battle for democracy and the enthronement of a new order to spur growth and development in Nigeria is one to which I have committed my all and for which I am not ready to walk away at this point when our nation is at crossroads.
“We know that sooner than later, our esteemed Justices will make the pronouncement that will serve as a befitting requiem for mandate bandits.
“I urge my supporters to exercise patience and conduct themselves peaceably as we diligently conduct our litigation at the Presidential Election Tribunal Court,” Atiku said.