The All Progressives Congress (APC) has appointed a legal team of 12 Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN) to defend the victory of the president-elect, Bola Tinubu, in the 2023 presidential election.
Tinubu polled 8,794,726 votes to defeat his colleagues, Atiku People’s Democratic Party (PDP), who polled 6,984,520 votes, and Peter Obi of the Labor Party, who had 6,101,533 votes.
Atiku and Obi have since rejected the election results and announced their intention to challenge the conduct of the election in court, alleging rigging and manipulation by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in favor of Tinubu and the APC.
However, the APC insisted that Tinubu’s victory was a true reflection of the wishes of Nigerians who voted during the election.
The National Legal Adviser of the APC, Ahmad Usman El-Marzuq, in a statement on Tuesday, released the list of 13 people, which included 12 senior lawyers.
El-Marzuq stated that the party is confident that the legal team has the necessary expertise and experience to ensure a successful outcome for the APC in the Presidential Election Petition matter.
“The All Progressives Congress (APC) has appointed a team of qualified and experienced lawyers to represent the party at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal,” El-Marzuq said.
“The team consists of legal figures with extensive 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., led by Prince Lateef Fagbemi SAN, a renowned lawyer who has successfully handled various high- profile election matters and cases another landmark.
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 an effort to defend the will and mandate of the people, calling on all parties involved to conduct themselves with total professionalism and respect the rule of law throughout the legal process.