The Justice Haruna Tsammani-led five-member panel of the Presidential Petition Election Tribunal on Wednesday said the Allied People’s Movement’s petition challenging the qualification of Vice President, Kashim Shettima, was a pre-election matter.
Reading his verdict, Tsammani said the matter ought to have been challenged before the conduct of the presidential election.
He said: “The issue of qualification or disqualification is a constitutional one.
The issue of disqualification or qualification is a pre-election matter.
“It must be determined before the conduct of the election. This court has no jurisdiction to hear the matter and even if it does it is statute-barred because it is a pre-election matter.”
Earlier, Tsammani said the tribunal would deliver judgement on the APM’s petition first.
Justice Tsammani said judgements would be delivered separately on the petitions.
He said: “We will deliver judgements on the petitions separately. The petition number four will be treated first.”
The APM was challenging the qualification of the Vice president, Kashim Shettima among others.
