Nigerian opposition leader petitions court over election results

By Olanrewaju Kola

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AA) - Nigeria's opposition Labour Party leader Peter Obi has filed a court petition seeking the cancellation of last month’s presidential election, an official said Tuesday.

The head of Obi's media team, Diran Onifade, told Anadolu that Obi is challenging the process that led to the declaration of Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party as the winner of the hotly contested polls.

"Yes, Mr. Obi filed a petition at the Presidential Election Tribunal on Monday night in Abuja," he said.

In the petition, the opposition leader is also asking the court to order fresh elections, challenging the qualifications of Tinubu and his running mate Kashim Shettima.

The country's Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on March 1 declared Tinubu the winner after he secured over 8.7 million votes.

Obi came third with 6.1 million votes while Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Atiku Abubakar garnered 6.9 million votes.

But the opposition parties’ leaders who had worked out of the National Collation Centre in the capital Abuja faulted the process of the collation of the election results. They also alleged irregularities and violence during the election.