By Deborah Onyofufeke, Abuja
The president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, yesterday at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) hearing responded to the request of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)), Atiku Abubakar, in the February 25 election, filed in an application before the court, requesting for a live broadcast of the proceedings regarding his petition challenging the outcome of the presidential polls.
This follows the acceptance of all involved acknowledging they have been served, Justice Haruna Tsanammi-led five-member panel adjourned further pre-hearing proceedings on Atiku’s petition till Thursday, May 11.
Tinubu, through his lead counsel, Lateef Fagbemi, in his response to the application, told the court that he would require more time to respond to the former vice president’s request as they were only served with the application yesterday in court.
The application, dated May 5, was brought before the court by Atiku and his party, the PDP.
Atiku, through his team of lawyers led by Chief Chris Uche, SAN, prayed the court to grant his request for the proceedings in the petition to be televised.
He specifically applied for; “An order, directing the court’s registry and the parties on modalities for admission of media practitioners and their equipment into the courtroom.”
He added that his petition against Tinubu is a matter of national concern and public interest and held that the case involved citizens and the electorate in the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, who he said voted and participated in the presidential poll.
He also drew the attention of the court to the fact that the international community is equally interested in issues pertaining to Nigeria’s electoral process.
Atiku and the PDP insisted that their case against Tinubu is a special one with the public interest in which millions of Nigerian citizens and voters are stakeholders, with the constitutional right to be part of the proceedings.
“An integral part of the constitutional duty of the court to hold proceedings in public is a discretion to allow public access to proceedings either physically or by electronic means.”
The counsel also averred, “With the huge and tremendous technological advances and developments in Nigeria and beyond, including the current trend by this honourable court towards embracing electronic procedures, virtual hearing, and electronic filing, a departure from the rules to allow a regulated televising of the proceedings in this matter is in consonance with the maxim that justice must not only be done but must be seen to be done.
“Televising court proceedings is not alien to this honourable court, and will enhance public confidence.”
When the matter was called yesterday, the senior lawyer, Uche, prayed the court to grant the application which he termed innocuous and harmless.
Responding, Fagbemi said, “My Lord, my immediate response is that he will hear from us within the time allowed by the rules.”
Also, the All Progressives Congress (APC) lawyer, Chief Akin Olujinmi, SAN, informed the court that the petitioners served him with the petition only on Monday, adding that they would also respond in due time as permitted by the rules of the court.
Earlier, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, also confirmed that it was served with the application.
Following the acceptance of all involved acknowledging they have been served, Justice Haruna Tsanammi-led five-member panel adjourned further pre-hearing proceedings on Atiku’s petition till Thursday, May 11.
It ordered all the parties to sort out all the documents they would either concede to or object to, as well as key issues to be considered with respect to the petition.
Meanwhile, during the hearing for the Allied Peoples Movement, APM, Tinubu, has asked the PEPC to dismiss the petition the party filed to nullify his election victory, stating that the petition was bereft of merit and substance.
The APM’s petition marked: CA/PEPC/04/2023, contended that the withdrawal of Ibrahim Masari, who was first nominated as the vice-presidential candidate of the APC, invalidated Tinubu’s candidacy in view of Section 131(c) and 142 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
The party argued that there was a gap of about three weeks between the period that Masari, who was listed as the 5th respondent in the petition, expressed intention to withdraw, the actual withdrawal of his nomination, and the time Tinubu replaced him with Senator Kashim Shettima.
APM argued that Tinubu’s candidature had elapsed at the time he nominated Shettima as Masari’s replacement.
The petitioner further argued that at the time Tinubu announced Shettima as the Vice Presidential candidate, he was no longer in a position, constitutionally, to nominate a running mate since he had ceased to be a presidential candidate of the 2nd Respondent having regards to the provisions of section 142 of the 1999 Constitution.
Also, APM, contended that Masari’s initial nomination activated the joint ticket principle enshrined in the Constitution, noting that his subsequent withdrawal invalidated the said joint ticket.
On this note, it prayed the court to declare that Shettima was not qualified to contest as the Vice-Presidential candidate of APC having violated the provisions of Section 35 of the Electoral Act, 2022.
It asked for an order nullifying and voiding all the votes scored by Tinubu in the presidential election in view of his non-qualification as a candidate of the APC.
It requested the court for an order to set aside the Certificate of Return that was issued to Tinubu by INEC.
Mr. M. O . Atoyebi, SAN, through his team of lawyers, adopted answers it filed on April 21, in response to a pre-hearing information sheet that was issued by the court.
All the parties adopted their answers, and the five-member panel of the court led by Justice Haruna Tsammani adjourned further pre-hearing sessions on the petition till Thursday.
