Nigeria’s main opposition leader, Atiku Abubakar, has warned that the Supreme Court decision affirming President Bola Tinubu’s election win would erode trust in elections.
He, thereby, called for changes to the electoral laws to improve transparency, as he addressed a press conference on Monday, October 30, 2023.
The country’s apex court, last week Monday, rejected a challenge by Atiku and Peter Obi, who came second and third respectively in the vote, slamming the door on any legal challenge against Tinubu, who says he won fairly.
Reacting to the judgment for the first time, Atiku told reporters the court’s decision would lead to “the erosion of trust in the electoral system and our democracy.”
He criticised the judges for refusing to admit new evidence he said showed Tinubu had used a fraudulent university certificate to contest, which the president denies.
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“As for me and my party, this phase of our work is done. However, I am not going away,” the 81-year-old Atiku said, hinting he may not be ready to retire from active politics.
In Nigeria, a candidate only requires a simple majority and at least 25% of the votes in three-quarters of the country’s 36 states to be declared president.
The Supreme Court judgment followed a pattern seen in previous presidential elections that have been challenged in court. None of the attempts to overturn results through the courts has been successful.
