The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, sitting in Abuja, has struck out a suit brought by the Allied Peoples Movement, APM, seeking the disqualification of Vice President Kashim Shettima on grounds of double nomination.
The opposition party had argued that Shettima was still the APC candidate for Borno Central Senatorial District on July 14 when he accepted the nomination for vice-presidential candidate.
But the tribunal disagreed in its ruling on Wednesday, saying that it was a pre-election matter, which cannot be settled after the election.
It also said that APM had no locus- standi in the matter, since it did not participate in the APC party primary that produced Shettima as vice presidential candidate.
Reading the verdict, Justice Haruna Tsammani said the matter ought to have been challenged before the conduct of the presidential election.
He said, “The issue of qualification or disqualification is a constitutional one.
“The issue of disqualification or qualification is a pre-election matter.
“It must be determined before the conduct of the election. This court has no jurisdiction to hear the matter and even if it does it is status-barred because it is a pre-election matter.”
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