The pre-hearing of the petition filed by Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), against President-elect Bola Tinubu has been rescheduled by the Presidential Election Tribunal.
News About Nigeria reports that Atiku and his party, the PDP, filed a petition in court seeking to invalidate Tinubu’s victory in the 2023 presidential election.
Atiku had accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of manipulating the electoral process in favor of Tinubu.
In his petition, Atiku urged the court to declare him as the rightful President-elect.
During the court proceedings on Tuesday, Atiku’s lawyer, Chris Uche, addressed the tribunal and made reference to certain individuals, namely Tinubu and INEC, who allegedly make announcements in the early hours of the morning, specifically at 4 am.
Uche emphasized that these individuals are well-known for their tendency to wait until 2 am or 4 am to make important announcements.
In response, the tribunal clarified that Atiku’s petition would be heard at 2 pm on Thursday, rather than 2 am.
Furthermore, the tribunal will make a ruling regarding Atiku’s previous motion requesting a live broadcast of the proceedings on Thursday.
Justice Haruna Tsammani, the presiding judge, also announced that the new motions presented by Tinubu’s legal team, which seek to dismiss Atiku’s petition during the pre-hearing stage, will be addressed on the adjourned date.
Recall that the Presidential Election Petition Court sitting at the Court of Appeal in Abuja also instructed the parties involved in the petition brought forth by the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) regarding the declaration of Bola Tinubu from the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the elected President, to coordinate their filed documents during the pre-hearing session.
They are required to reconvene at the court on Thursday, May 11, to resume the pre-hearing proceedings.
