The All Progressives Congress (APC) has appointed a legal team with 12 Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) to defend the win of the president-elect, Bola Tinubu, in the 2023 presidential election.
Tinubu polled 8,794,726 votes to defeat fellow contenders, the People’s Democratic Party’s (PDP) Atiku, who polled 6,984,520 votes, and the Labour Party’s Peter Obi, who had 6,101,533 votes.
Atiku and Obi have since rejected the election result and announced intent to challenge the conduct of the election in court, citing alleged rigging and manipulation by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to favour Tinubu and the APC.
APC has, however, insisted that Tinubu’s win was a true reflection of the wish of Nigerians that voted during the election.
APC National Legal Adviser, Ahmad Usman El-Marzuq, in a statement on Tuesday, released the 13-man list, which included 12 senior advocates.
El-Marzuq stated that the party is confident that the legal team possesses the requisite expertise and experience to ensure a successful outcome for the APC in the Presidential Election Petition matters.
“The All Progressives Congress (APC) has appointed a team of highly qualified and experienced lawyers to represent the party at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal,” El-Marzuq said.
“The team is comprised of legal luminaries with vast experience in election petition matters, constitutional law, and litigation.”
The legal team consists of twelve (12) Senior Advocates of Nigeria, and the National Legal Adviser of the Party, Ahmad Usman El-Marzuq, Esq., is led by Prince Lateef Fagbemi SAN, a renowned lawyer who has successfully handled various high-profile election matters and other landmark cases.
Other members of the legal team are Ahmad Usman El-Marzuq, Sam Ologunorisa, Rotimi Oguneso, Olabisi Soyebo, Gboyega Oyewole, Muritala Abdulrasheed, Aliyu Omezia Saiki, Tajudeen Oladoja, Pius Akubo, Oluseye Opasanya, Suraju Saida, and Kazeem Adeniyi.
El-Marzuq, however, urged party members to support the team in its effort to defend the will and mandate of the people, calling on all parties involved to conduct themselves with the utmost professionalism and respect for the rule of law throughout the legal process.
