The All Progressives Congress (APC) has appointed a team of 12 Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) to defend its presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, in the recently concluded polls. According to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Tinubu secured 8,794,726 votes in 12 states, while Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) got 6,984,520 votes and Peter Obi of the Labour Party received 6,101,533 votes. However, Atiku and Obi have rejected the election result and vowed to challenge it in court.
In response, the APC released a statement on March 7, expressing its willingness to face the parties in court. The party’s National Legal Adviser, Ahmad Usman El-Marzuq, announced the 12 SANs and himself as the 13-man legal team. The team is led by Prince Lateef Fagbemi SAN and comprises legal experts with extensive experience in election petition matters, constitutional law, and litigation.
The APC is confident in the team’s ability to secure a favorable outcome in the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal. The party has called on all parties involved to act professionally and abide by the rule of law during the legal process. It also urged its members to support the legal team’s efforts to defend the people’s mandate.