The Justice Haruna Tsammani-led five-member panel of the Presidential Petition Election Tribunal on Wednesday said the Allied Peoples 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 status-barred because it is a pre-election matter.”