Tinubu had no conversation with CJN on presidential poll rerun, says APC

The All Progressives Congress (APC) says President Bola Tinubu never had a telephone conversation with Olukayode Ariwoola, chief justice of Nigeria (CJN), over a possible rerun of the presidential election.

Jackson Ude, a Twitter user, had claimed that the president spoke with the CJN over the outcome of the presidential election petition.

Ude alleged that the CJN told Tinubu to prepare for a rerun election.

Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, standard bearers of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP), are challenging the victory of Tinubu at the last presidential election.

Abubakar and Obi recently submitted their final written addresses after closing their respective cases at the election tribunal.

In a statement issued on Tuesday night, Felix Morka, spokesperson of the APC, said “falsehoods” like Ude’s claims are capable of undermining the judiciary.

“President Tinubu and our party won the last presidential election without a doubt, and do not have any need to engage in side conversations with the CJN regarding pending petitions before the PEPC,” Morka said.

“As the core democrat that he is, the president respects the right of aggrieved candidates in the election to seek redress for any grievances that they may have. The constitution and Electoral Act provide effective guarantees of that right.

“The PEPC should be afforded the time and space to perform its important constitutional and statutory duty of adjudicating and delivering a verdict in the matter without needlessly calling the integrity of our judges into question.

“Falsehood and conjecture by the likes of Mr. Ude only aim to inflame political passions, create doubt and panic, and preemptively undermine the verdict of the courts in this important matter.”

The ruling party added that it is “confident” that Nigerians are “smart” and discerning enough to disregard unsubstantiated claims.