The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) sitting in Abuja, on Monday, reserved rulings on seven motions in relation to the petition of the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) and its Presidential candidate in the February 23 general election, Pastor Aminchi Habu, filed seeking to nullify President Muhammadu Buhari’s re-election.
The motions were reserved for ruling on a day the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), President Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC), challenged the competence of the petition.
In separate motions, INEC, Buhari and APC, who were the 1st to 3rd Respondents in the petition, further queried the jurisdiction of the tribunal to entertain the petition they said was grossly incompetent.
While INEC filed three motions in opposition to the petition marked CA/PEPC/004/2019, both Buhari and APC, filed two motions each, which were all moved and reserved for a ruling.
The five-member panel of tribunal headed by Justice Mohammed Garba held that the rulings would be delivered alongside the main judgement as prescribed in section 285(8) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
Specifically, INEC, through its lead counsel, Usman Yunus (SAN), urged the tribunal to grant the motions it filed on April 23 and May 9, which challenged the petition on the ground that PDM and its candidate failed to comply with Paragraph 18 of the First Schedule to the Electoral Act.
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The electoral body argued that non-joinder of the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), as a necessary party, was fatal to the competence of the petition.
Similarly, President Buhari’s counsel, Mr. Akin Osinbajo (SAN), who moved two motions on behalf of his client, filed on May 19 and May 21, asked the tribunal to strike out or dismiss the petition in its entirety.
On its part, APC, through its lawyer, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), in motions it filed on April 10 and May 15, also sought the dismissal of the petition.
However, PDM and its candidate, in counter-affidavits they filed through their counsel, Aliyu Lemu, prayed the tribunal to ignore all the objections and proceed to hear their case on its merit.
The petitioners are seeking a fresh presidential election on the basis that their party logo was not included in the ballot paper that was used for the February 23 election that produced President Buhari.
Meanwhile, before it adjourned further proceedings on the pre-hearing session till June 27, the tribunal, said it would determine the petitioners request for judgement to be entered against INEC over its alleged failure to submit its pre-hearing answers as provided by the Electoral Act.
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