A respected public affairs commentator, Prof. Isaac Albert, has offered counsel to the country’s leading opposition parties, urging them to refrain from further challenging the results of the February 25 presidential election.
In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan, Albert emphasized that this decision would be more pragmatic and would prevent unnecessary expenditure of resources in Supreme Court litigation.
The Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal (PEPT) recently upheld the outcome of the election, confirming President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner. Tinubu secured victory over Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Mr. Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), who took the second and third positions, respectively.
Albert, an expert in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Ibadan, argued that based on the judges’ analyses, the opposition parties had clearly been defeated.
“They simply couldn’t substantiate their claims. Moreover, the notion that a specific number of votes cast in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) could significantly influence or affect a contestant’s victory was definitively addressed through a lucid constitutional explanation.”
“In my observation, the tribunal has accomplished a substantial part of the Supreme Court’s work, should the opposition opt to appeal the judgment. Hence, I believe that challenging Tinubu’s victory would be an exercise in futility since they lack concrete evidence,” stated the scholar.
Albert also highlighted that the tribunal’s judgment was not only riveting and informative but would also be remembered for its meticulous examination of all issues in light of their constitutionality.