APC appoints 12 SANs to defend Tinubu in presidential battle
Story from Ibraheem Hamza MUHAMMAD
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has appointed a Presidential Election Petition Legal team made up of 12 Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) to defend the mandate of the party’s presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who was announced the winner of the February 25 presidential poll.
Recall that after the announcement by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar, and Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, rejected the results and vowed to challenge the election outcome in court.
READ ALSO: Atiku leads protest at INEC headquarters in Abuja
The two opposition parties have already approached the Court of Appeal in Abuja to obtain an order that would allow them to inspect election materials used by INEC to conduct the presidential and National Assembly elections.
A statement issued on Tuesday by the APC National Legal Adviser, Ahmad Usman El-Marzuq, said the mandate of the team, which is led by Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), is to
explore every means of defending its mandate.
The statement reads, “The All Progressives Congress (APC) has appointed a team of highly qualified and experienced lawyers to represent the Party at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal.
“The team is comprised of legal luminaries with vast experience in election petition matters, constitutional law, and litigation.
“The legal team consisting of twelve (12) Senior Advocates of Nigeria and the National Legal Adviser of the Party, Ahmad Usman El-Marzuq, Esq., is led by Prince Lateef Fagbemi SAN, a renowned lawyer who has successfully handled various high-profile election matters and other landmark cases.
“The full list of the Legal team is as follows: Lateef Fagbemi, SAN (Lead Counsel); Ahmad Usman El-Marzuq, Esq. (Life Bencher); Sam Ologunorisa, SAN; Rotimi Oguneso, SAN.
Others are Olabisi Soyebo, SAN; Gboyega Oyewole, SAN; Muritala Abdulrasheed, SAN; Aliyu Omeiza Saiki, SAN; Tajudeen Oladoja, SAN; Pius Akubo, SAN.
The rest include Oluseye Opasanya, SAN; Suraju Saida, SAN, and Kazeem Adeniyi, SAN.
El-Marzuq further said the party is confident that the legal team possesses the requisite expertise and experience to ensure a successful outcome for the APC in the Presidential Election Petition matters.
READ ALSO: Atiku, Obi reject Tinubu as President-elect, vow to challenge results in court
“We urge members of the party to support the team in its effort to defend the will and mandate of the people. We also call on all parties involved to conduct themselves with the utmost professionalism and respect for the rule of law throughout the legal process,” he said.
Neptune Prime recalls that PDP’s Atiku Abubakar, on Monday, led a protest at INEC headquarters in Abuja where he vowed that the protest would be a continuous process as the current Electoral Law was not followed during the presidential election.
Atiku and some top PDP leaders alongside their supporters stormed the commission’s office demanding that INEC released the real results.
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