Although the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) says that it has serious questions about the integrity of the conduct of 2019 Presidential election, this has not stopped it from throwing in the age old legal question about the educational qualifications of President Muhammadu Buhari, contending that the President did not meet the educational qualifications to run for President. This is one of the grounds on which the PDP is contesting the results of the 2019 elections announced by INEC. Not to be outdone, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has introduced a nouvelle question about the citizen status of the peoples of Adamawa and other parts of Northern Nigeria who became citizens by virtue of the plebiscite. The APC in its response to the PDP Candidate’s petition is alleging that Mr. Atiku, who hails from Jeda in Adamawa State and has worked in the public service of Nigeria, rising to become Vice President for eight years, is not a Nigerian.
In the petition filed by Mr. Atiku and the PDP, they contest the Presidential election results on the following grounds:
- President Buhari was not duly elected by the majority of lawful votes cast at the election;
- The election of President Buhari is invalid by reason of corrupt practices.
- His election is invalid by reason of non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended);
- He was not qualified to contest the election;
- Buhari submitted an affidavit containing false information of a fundamental nature with regard to his qualification to contest the election.
In a preliminary objection, President Buhari and the APC contend as follows:
- The Tribunal has no jurisdiction to adjudicate on the matter with respect to Mr. Buhari’s alleged lack of qualification to contest the election and the submission of alleged false information to aid his qualification, as they are pre-election matters and have become statute barred;
- The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), also a respondent in the matter had pasted Mr. Buhari’s particulars (Form CF001) for the notice of the general public long before the election, giving opportunity for members of the public to challenge his qualifications;
- The petitioners failed to challenge Mr. Buhari’s educational qualification as displayed by INEC and have subsequently waived their right to do so;
- Issues flowing from the grounds of the petition such as locations of alleged corrupt practices and instances of non-compliance with the Electoral Act are imprecise, vague and speculative;
- Issues of alleged acts of violence and intimidation by security agencies and thugs ought to be struck out as the said actors were not joined as respondents to the petition.
In a further reply to the petition on of the PDP candidate, Atiku Abubakar, the APC’s President Buhari contended that:
- Atiku Abubakar is not a Nigerian citizen by birth and ought not to have been allowed to contest the election, as he was born in Jeda, Adamawa in Northern Cameroon and is therefore Cameroonian;
- A valid election was conducted in substantial compliance with the Electoral Act;
- The petitioners’ claim that election results were uploaded and electronically transmitted through Smart Card Readers to INEC’s server is incorrect and the said server, non-existent;
- Buhari was duly elected by the majority of lawful votes cast at the election;
- Buhari was qualified to contest the election having been educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent.
The hearing of the petition against INEC’s declaration of Muhammadu Buhari as winner of the 2019 Presidential election is yet to commence.