The Presidential Election Petition Court has dismissed the petition of the Allied People’s Movement, APM, for lacking judicial right to challenge the mode of nomination of Kashim Shettima as the Vice Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, in the 2023 elections.
The election was won by the APC but the APM in its petition is seeking to void the joint ticket of Bola Tinubu and Kashim Shettima, on grounds of double nomination of Shettima.
The lead judgment read by the Chairman of the court, Justice Haruna Tsammani on Wednesday, said the issue of nomination of a candidate is solely a pre-election matter that should be determined by the Federal High Court, affirming that the Election Petition Court lacks jurisdiction to adjudicate over the matter.
The court also stated that the nomination by substitution, as in the case of Kabir Masari and Shettima, is solely a pre-election matter and that only an aspirant in the party primary can challenge such.
The court said no political party has the right to challenge the mode of nomination of a candidate in another party, except in line with the provisions of Sections 131 and 137 of the 1999 Constitution.
The court also made reference to the decision of the Supreme Court of 26th of May, 2023, which had dismissed the case of double nomination against the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), Kashim Shettima and others.
