Tinubu Not Worried About Presidential Tribunal’s Verdict In Peter Obi, Atiku’s Petitions- Official

Ajuri Ngelale, the Special Adviser to the President Bola Tinubu on Media and Publicity, said Monday that his principal was not worried about the Presidential Election Petition Court’s upcoming judgment in petitions challenging the President’s election.

Judgment date has been fixed for Wednesday as announced by the Court of Appeal in a statement.

Appearing on Channels Television ‘s Politics Today programme, Ngelale was asked if Tinubu is anxious or worried about the PEPC’s likely decision.

He replied that Tinubu was not worried because he was persuaded he won the 2023 presidential election.

His words, “He (Tinubu) is not worried simply because he knows he won the elections. If you look at the strongholds…we believe we have presented the best case, we believe we have the evidence on our side and the most talented legal team in the country that is working with the best facts available to any candidate.

“The fact is, we won in most places across the geopolitical zones in the country.”

Ngelale advised political opponents to note that the All Progressives Congress did not feel disturbed when Tinubu lost strongholds like Lagos and Katsina to the opposition, adding “where we won, people should not also say we rigged.”

He added that the president remained committed to the independence of the judiciary and would not interfere with their business.

“Unlike other political parties in the country, the president sees no need to threaten judicial officers. He sees no need to raise speculations against the integrity of judicial officers. He believes that the great men and women on the panel will make their decisions based only on facts before them and not based on anything else.

“He believes the mandate Nigerians freely gave to him during elections will stand.

“He will continue to ensure that no matter what the outcome is, institutions will be respected not just by him but by all actors,” he said.

Recall that Tinubu’s election is being contested in court by Peter Obi of the Labour Party, Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party and the Allied Peoples Movement.

Among other issues, Obi alleges his actual votes were reduced by over 2.5million by the Independent National Electronic Commission and credited to Tinubu through alleged blurred polling unit results.

Atiku, on his part, believes he won the election by majority of lawful votes cast.

The APM held that Tinubu was not qualified to run for the presidency at the first place due to alleged double nomination of his running mate, Vice President Kashim Shettima.

Both Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar are calling for the cancellation of the election, in the alternative especially with Tinubu’s failure to win 25 percent of votes in FCT.

But the legal team of INEC, Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress unanimously urged the PEPC to dismiss all the petitions for lacking in merit and substance.