Kayode Lawal
President Bola Tinubu and and Vice President Kashim Shetima on Wednesday at the Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPEC, tendered 18 exhibits to establish their requisite qualifications for the 2023 Presidetial Election.
While Tinubu for the second time in less than 24 hours, presented his records at the Chicago State University to the Court, Shetima tendered his letter of withdrawal from Borno South Senatorial race upon been picked to be Vice Presidetial candidate.
The exhibits were tendered by Tinubu and Shetima to the court to debunk allegations of non-qualifications to stand for the 2023 presidential election.
Through their lead counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, Tinubu separately put at the disposal of the Court a letter of February 3, 2003 signed by a former Inspector General of Police, Tafa Balogun requesting the criminal records of Bola Ahmed Tinubu from the Embassy of the United States of America USA in Nigeria.
At the Wednesday’s proceedings where they opened their defense in a joint petition of the Labour Party and Peter Obi, Tinubu tendered another letter from the US Embassy which in response to Police letter, claimed not having any criminal records of Tinubu.
While the Independent National Electoral Commission and the All Progressives Congress APC did not object to tendering and admitting the documents as exhibits, the People’s Democratic Party and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku kicked against admission of the documents.
The Court admitted the documents as exhibits in determining whether the President actually attended the Chicago State University and whether he was convicted in the United States of America USA for any drug offences as alleged by Obi and his party.
Obi and Labour Party had predicated their joint petition seeking nullification of Tinubu’s election on the ground of not having requisite educational qualification, conviction for drug related offences by a US Court among others.
Similar exhibits had on Tuesday been admitted by the same Court but in a different petition of Alhaji Abubakar Atiku and PDP who are also asking the Court to kick out Tinubu from the Presidency on the same grounds.
Besides the records on educational background and absence of criminal conviction, Tinubu tendered several US Visa to establish his frequent visits to America and clearances obtained from the Nigeria Immigration Service.
