PEPT To Lalong: You Can’t Stand In For Tinubu
The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) on Monday, May 8, 2023, denied the Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong, from standing before it as the representative of the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The Plateau governor, who was the Director-General of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, had appeared at the Court of Appeal, Abuja, venue of the PEPT to observe the pre-hearing of the petitions challenging the outcome of the February 25, 2023, presidential election.
Lalong, a lawyer by training, after the first petition that was filed against the outcome of the presidential election was mentioned, stood up and announced that he was representing Tinubu, the president-elect.
He said; “My Lord, my name is Simon Lalong and I am here to represent Tinubu”.
But, Justice Haruna Tsammani, who led the five-member panel, refused to recognise Governor Lalong as Tinubu’s representative, saying; “You cannot represent an individual. Tinubu is not a corporation that would need a representative”.
Lalong quickly changed his earlier position saying; “My Lords, in that case, I will represent the All Progressives Congress (APC).”
In the meantime, the PEPT adjourned pre-hearing in the petitions filed by the Action Peoples Party, (APP) and Labour Party (LP) to Wednesday, May 10, 2023.
The PEPT is also expected to also hear the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar on Tuesday.
