Atiku urges tribunal to uphold his victory in 21 states as ‘admitted’ by INEC

Abubakar Atiku, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 presidential election, has called on the Presidential Election Petition Court (PREPEC) to uphold the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC’s) acknowledgment that he secured victory in 21 states during the disputed February 25 presidential election.

Three lawyers representing INEC at PREPEC stated that Atiku’s claim would be addressed in their ‘response on point of law’ to the court next week. However, the lawyers, who preferred anonymity, declined to comment on whether the PDP candidate’s “21 states victory” was included in INEC’s written response to the petition submitted to the Tribunal.

Atiku’s demand is based on the fact that the electoral commission, in its reply to his petition challenging the declaration of Bola Tinubu as President, stated that he won in 21 out of the 36 states of the federation. Atiku asserted that INEC did not dispute this claim during the hearing or in its final written address against the petition.

The former vice president submitted this request in his final written address, filed on July 20, by their lead counsel, Chief Chris Uche SAN, supporting his joint petition with the PDP seeking the nullification of Tinubu’s victory in the presidential poll.

Atiku and the PDP maintained that INEC’s assertion of his victory in 21 states was neither refuted, retracted, debunked, nor considered an error throughout the proceedings.

Atiku mentioned the specific states which the electoral umpire identified as won by him: Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Borno, Delta, Ekiti, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Osun, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, and Zamfara. He urged the PREPEC to uphold this declaration, emphasizing that INEC’s own statements confirmed his victory in these states, which were not denied during the proceedings.

In the final written address, he highlighted INEC’s admission in paragraph 18 of its reply to the petition, where it clearly stated that he won in 21 states. He urged the court to consider this as an admission against interest that required no further proof.

Atiku and the PDP also accused INEC of declaring Tinubu as the winner without meeting the mandatory constitutional requirement of securing at least a quarter of the votes cast in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. They claimed that the electoral body manipulated the election results through various infractions and corrupt practices.

As of now, the PREPEC has not set a date for the adoption of parties’ final written addresses in Atiku and the PDP’s petition.

In the previous declaration, INEC’s Chairman, Professor Yakubu Mahmood, announced Tinubu as the winner of the February 25 presidential election, citing that Tinubu of the APC obtained the majority of the lawful votes cast.

However, Atiku and the PDP contested INEC’s decision, alleging that the electoral body failed to adhere to its own regulations and guidelines, leading to a rigged process that favored Tinubu and the APC.

They have consequently requested the court to void Tinubu’s election, declare themselves as winners, or conduct a fresh election that excludes Tinubu.