Robert Clarke, a senior advocate of Nigeria, has said that he accepts the judgment of the presidential election petition tribunal as a true and correct judgment. However, he also said that the matter could still be taken to the Supreme Court, as there are two sides to the coin.
Clarke said that the tribunal was correct in ruling that the case was a pre-election matter, and that the Electoral Act does not allow the tribunal to look into matters that are not part of the election. However, he also said that the litigants could still appeal the decision to the Supreme Court, which has the final say on all legal matters in Nigeria.
Clarke's comments come after the tribunal dismissed a petition challenging the eligibility of President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima to contest the 2023 presidential election. The petition argued that Tinubu was ineligible to run for president because he had not resigned his position as a senator before the deadl
The tribunal ruled that the petition was a pre-election matter, and that it did not have jurisdiction to hear it. The tribunal also said that the Supreme Court had already ruled on this issue in a previous case, and that it was bound by that decis
Clarke said that he agreed with the tribunal's decision, but that he also understood why the petitioners might want to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court. He said that the Supreme Court is the final arbiter of all legal matters in Nigeria, and that it is ultimately up to the Supreme Court to decide whether the tribunal's decision was correct
Clarke's comments are likely to be welcomed by the government and the ruling party, as they suggest that the tribunal's decision is unlikely to be overturned by the Supreme Court. However, the petitioners may still decide to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court, in the hope that they will be able to get a different outcome.
The Supreme Court is expected to hear the appeal in the coming months.
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