On Tuesday the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, has appointed 12 Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) to defend the mandate of its presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, in the just concluded election.
Recall that Tinubu polled 8,794,726 votes in 12 of Nigeria’s 36 states, higher than his closest rival, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
While the former vice president came second with 6,984,520 votes, the candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Peter Obi, finished the race with 6,101,533.
Both Atiku and Obi have rejected the outcome of the election, vowing to seek redress in court.
But the ruling party, in its readiness to defend the mandate, said it is willing to meet the opposition parties in court.
In a statement, the party’s National Legal Adviser, Ahmad Usman El-Marzuq, released the 13-man list comprising 12 senior advocates.
Top on the list is a legal icon, Wole Olanipekun, who is also the lead counsel to the ruling party at the Presidential Election Tribunal.
“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,” the statement read.
“The team is composed of legal luminaries with vast experience in election petition matters, constitutional law, and litigation.
“The legal team consisting 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 list 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.
