The inauguration of President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President-elect Kashim Shettima has received the official approval of the Supreme Court, as it dismissed a suit brought by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) seeking their disqualification from the 2023 presidential election.
On Friday, the Apex Court ruled that the PDP’s suit, which alleged double nomination by Shettima and sought the disqualification of Tinubu and Shettima, lacked merit and was therefore dismissed.
In delivering the lead judgment, Justice Adamu Jauro imposed a fine of N2 million on the PDP for interfering in the internal affairs of the All Progressives Congress (APC) regarding its primary elections and candidate nominations.
Justice Jauro concurred with the arguments put forth by Tinubu’s lawyer, Prince Lateef Fagbemi SAN, stating that the PDP had unjustly acted as a busybody and meddlesome interloper in its unwarranted involvement in the affairs of the APC.
The Supreme Court determined that not only did the PDP lack the jurisdiction to initiate the lawsuit, but the party also failed to present any credible evidence of Shettima’s alleged double nomination.
The PDP’s claim regarding the Vice President-elect’s alleged double nomination was described as highly unfortunate and a deliberate attempt to mislead the Court and the nation.
Furthermore, the Supreme Court agreed with lawyer Fagbemi SAN that regardless of the PDP’s dissatisfaction with how the APC conducted its primary elections and nominated its candidates, the PDP must remain a mere observer.
“It is evident that the Appellant (PDP), in its entirety, is prying and meddling in the affairs of another party, acting as a busybody and meddlesome interloper,” the Court stated.
The Court found the PDP’s actions concerning, as the party had used social media to set a trap for the Supreme Court in an attempt to blackmail it. Such behavior was deemed highly unfortunate, unwarranted, and unnecessary.