The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, said on Saturday nothing should stop the Supreme Court from accepting his fresh evidence against President Bola Tinubu in the ongoing dispute over the outcome of the February 25 election.
The PDP candidate on October 7 filed an application to present fresh evidence against the president at the apex court.
This followed the release of Tinubu’s academic records by the Chicago State University in the United States.
Atiku has continued to insist that the president presented a forged document to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before the election.
In his objection to the application filed by his lead counsel, Wole Olanipekun (SAN), President Tinubu asked the Supreme Court not to entertain the fresh depositions made by the former Vice President as they were brought outside the 180 days provided by the Electoral Act for the hearing of the petition on the election.
He argued that the apex court lacked the jurisdiction to receive and decide on the fresh evidence at this stage of the appeal.
In a fresh reply filed by his lead counsel Chris Uche (SAN), the PDP candidate insisted that the time limit for determining disputes involving assembly and governorship elections at the lower tribunals does not in Section 285(6) apply to the Court of Appeal, and by extension, the Supreme Court.
The apex court will begin hearing on the application on Monday.
He said: “Thereafter, the constitution was intentional and deliberate in setting the 180 days limit only for election tribunals, and not for the Court of Appeal. On the other hand, when it came to appeals, the Constitution clearly and expressly extended the same to the Court of Appeal.
“The constitution clearly excluded the Court of Appeal in the preceding subsection.
“The Supreme Court shall have jurisdiction, to the exclusion of any other court of law in Nigeria, to hear and determine appeals from the Court of Appeal.
“An appeal shall lie from decisions of the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court as of right in the following cases – (e) decisions on any question – (i) whether any person has been validly elected to the office of President or Vice President under this constitution.”
