Orders Atiku, Obi to present petitions against tinubu’s election in 3 weeks
The Presidential Election Petition Court ,PEPC, on Tuesday consolidated the petitions filed by Atiku Abubakar of the People Democratic Party ,PDP, Peter Obi of the Labour Party,LP, and Allied Peoples Movement, APM.
With the consolidation their petitions would be taken together as directed by the court . The order came just as the respondents : Ahmed Bola Tinubu and All Progressive Congress, APC, objected to the consolidation. The national electoral body, Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, did not oppose the consolidation.
The Court threw out the vehement objection of Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress APC to the consolidation.
However, PEPC has ordered the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party LP, Mr Peter Gregory Obi and his party to present their joint petition against the February 25 presidential election within three weeks.
The Court also ordered the President elect who is the target of the petition, Bola Tinubu to defend his victory at the election along with the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC within five days.
Obi through his counsel, Professor Awa Kalu SAN had requested for seven weeks to establish their allegations against the disputed election that produced Tinubu.
Presiding Justice of the five man panel of the Court of Appeal, Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani issued the order on Tuesday while presenting the pre- hearing sessions report of the Court.
Among others, Justice Tsammani ordered that Obi must open his petition for hearing on May 30 and end same on June 23.
The Court said that it arrived at the decision because of the limited time within which the petition must be disposed off.
Immediately after the order of the Court was handed down, Obi who was in court to witness the proceedings took permission from the court and left on the ground that they were going to prepare for the full blown hearing of the petition.