Despite legal challenges to his victory, Bola Tinubu, the president-elect of Nigeria, will be sworn in on May 29, according to Lai Mohammed, the minister of information.
As outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari officially leaves office in May, groups angry over the results of the presidential election on February 25 are calling for an interim administration.
According to Mr. Mohammed, there is “no basis” for the formation of an interim administration. The right to dispute the presidential election in court, he claimed, belongs to the opposition political groups.
On March 21, four presidential candidates filed lawsuits to contest Mr. Tinubu’s election, alleging massive vote-rigging and tallying manipulation.
It takes about eight months for the judiciary to determine a presidential election petition. The petition must be heard within 180 days from the day it is filed. A petitioner can appeal the tribunal’s judgement at the Court of Appeal within 21 days from the decision date.
If petitioners are dissatisfied with the appellate court’s decision, which is delivered within 60 days, they have 21 days to appeal it at the Supreme Court, whose decision is final.