The presidential candidates of the main opposition parties, Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party and Peter Obi of the Labour Party have both rejected the outcome of the Presidential Election Petition court, which upheld the election victory of President Bola Tinubu. 

The court had in its ruling dismissed the petitions of both Atiku and Obi for failing to prove their petitions of electoral fraud. However, both political gladiators have come out to reject the outcome of the court, vowing to appeal the judgement at the Supreme Court.

Hours after the tribunal ruling, Atiku Abubakar addressed a press conference, where he stated his official position on the court’s verdict.

His address partly “Gentlemen of the press, I take great pains to tell you that the decision of the court of first instance on this matter utterly falls far short of that expectation. I am therefore here to tell you that, though the judgment of the court yesterday is respected, it is a judgment that I refuse to accept. I refuse to accept the judgment because I believe that it is bereft of substantial justice. However, the disappointment in the verdict of the court can never destroy my confidence in the judiciary”.

(Read full text in Tweet below).

Peter Obi also addressed journalists, where he announced his “intention as a presidential candidate and the intention of the Labour Party to challenge this judgment by way of appeal immediately, as allowed by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.

(Read full text in Tweet below).