The petition the Action Peoples Party, APP, filed to overturn the declaration of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, as the winner of the 2023 presidential election, was withdrawn on Wednesday.

The party decided to end further hearings on its petition with the following markings: CA/PEPC/02/23, during the resumed proceedings before the Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC, in Abuja.

Mr. Obed Agu, the party’s attorney, explained to the five-member court panel assigned to hear the case that the withdrawal notice, which was submitted on May 9 and was based on paragraphs 29(1), (2), and (3) of the Schedule for Election Petitions, was the basis for the withdrawal.

“My Lords, we are seeking an order of this court for leave to withdraw this petition filed on March 19.

“As well as an order striking out or dismissing the petition, the same has been withdrawn,” Agu stated.

The President-elect, Tinubu, expressed his support for APP’s request to withdraw the petition through Chief Wole Olanipenkun, SAN, who is also his lead attorney.

“We want to commend them, with the hope that more will still come.” My Lords, we are not asking for costs,” Olanipenkun, SAN, added.

Prince Lateef Fagemi, SAN, the lead attorney for the APC, who did not also object to the application, urged those whose court-pending petitions challenging the results of the presidential election to imitate the APP.

We applaud the petitioners for acting morally, he said. Those who haven’t yet should start doing it right away.

“The flight is moving.” We want to let them know that we commend them and we are not asking for costs,” Fagbemi, SAN, added.

Additionally, the application was not opposed by the Independent National Electoral Commission or INEC.

The application was served on INEC’s attorney, Mr. A. B. Mahmood, SAN, on Tuesday, he claimed.

Justice Haruna Tsammani guided the panel in ordering the petition to be dismissed after hearing from all parties.

“Having listened to all the parties, we are satisfied that there is no collusion.” “The petition having been withdrawn, it is hereby dismissed,” the court held.

Among other things, the APP claimed that Tinubu was given unfair advantages in 11 federation states during the presidential election.

It claimed that electoral officials in Rivers and ten other states were “corruptly induced” to tamper with the results at local and state collation centers.

You may remember that the Action Alliance, an opposing political party, also withdrew its own petition on Monday.

Both the APP and the AA were unable to provide any justification for their abrupt decisions to end the case they had filed challenging Tinubu’s election victory.