The Presidential Election Petitions Court has fixed Monday for the hearing of the petitions challenging the declaration of the All Progressives Congress standard bearer, Bola Tinubu as the president-elect.
With this development, the expected legal battle by candidates disputing the outcome of the 2023 presidential poll will commence from May 8.
The National Legal Adviser of the All Progressives Congress, Ahmad El-Marzuq, confirmed the date to The PUNCH on Tuesday.
He said the APC legal team had been briefed and was ready to defend the party’s mandate.
“We have been briefed about the hearing coming up next week. But who told you the election petitions at the tribunal must necessarily be concluded before May 29?
“Are you saying if they were not concluded before President Buhari leaves office, the government should be left in a vacuum and the president-elect should not be sworn in? It is not a must,’’ he stated in response to a question about the time it would take for the petitions to be decided.
Also, a top official of the election petitions tribunal affirmed that the hearing proceedings would start on Monday.
He equally alleged that the election was conducted in substantial non-compliance with the provision of the law.
However, a faction of the Action Alliance is seeking the tribunal’s order to nullify Tinubu’s victory as the president-elect.
The Action Alliance and its presidential flag bearer hinged their petition on INEC’s failure to upload the name of its candidate, Solomon-David Okanigbuan – to its portal for the February election.
In its petition filed on 16 March, the AA and Okanigbuan as co-petitioners said despite subsisting court orders recognise Okanigbuan as the authentic presidential standard-bearer, the electoral umpire instead uploaded the name of Hamza Al-Mustapha.
INEC had recognised Al-Mustapha, a former chief security officer to the late dictator, Sani Abacha, as AA’s presidential candidate for the election.
It contended that the victory of the ex-Lagos senator will not stand owing to the “flawed process” of nominating his vice presidential pick, Shettima.
In its petition marked CA/PEPC/04/2023, the Alliance People’s Movement in a petition contended that the president-elect was not qualified to run for office.
(Upshotreports)