By Paschal Emeka, Abuja | March 10, 2023
As the battle for who succeeds President Buhari shifts to the Judiciary, influential Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Pius Akubo has rejected appointment to Tinubu’s legal team that will defend his widely controversial win in the February 25 presidential election.
A statement credited to him, read in part, “In the circumstance and for personal reasons, I hereby decline the said appointment.”
Akubo said he was unaware of the appointment, and there had been no official communication between himself and Mr Tinubu’s camp.
“In the last twenty-four (24) hours or so, the social media space has been agog with a trending unsigned letter in respect of appointment of Presidential Election Petition Legal Team by All Progressives Congress (APC) wherein my name is listed as number 10,” said the senior lawyer in a statement.
“With all due respect, I wish to state that I had no prior knowledge of the said appointment. As a matter of fact, I have not received any official communication on the subject matter hitherto. Suffice it to say that I was taken by surprise to hear of the said appointment vide social media.”
Akubo pointed out that he could not defend the former Lagos governor for personal reasons even if such contemplations were being made.
“In the circumstance and for personal reasons, I hereby decline the said appointment,” he added.
Recall that the Peoples Democratic Party and Labour Party separately resolved to challenge Tinubu’s controversial victory.
Also, the PDP and Labour are claiming victory in the election and the country is set to witness a consequential and dramatic legal tussle that could last for several months.