Legal fireworks expected at election tribunal as Atiku, 3 other petitioners seek to annul Buhari’s election

The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal is expected to commence sitting today (Wednesday) in Abuja, with legal fireworks expected as the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and three other petitioners seek to invalidate Muhammadu Buhari’s election as president of Nigeria.

During its sitting today, the election tribunal is expected to rule on the petition filed by PDP and its candidate Atiku Abubakar, marked CA/PEPC/002/2019, which was filed on March 18.

Other petitions that will receive the attention of the tribunal include the ones filed by the presidential candidate of Hope Democratic Party, (HDP), Chief Ambrose Owuru, who got 1,663 in the election, presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Movement (PDM), Pastor Aminchi Habu and the petition with suit No. CA/PEPC/003/2019, filed by the Coalition For Change, and its presidential candidate, Geff Chizee Ojinka.

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The PDM, on its part, is contending that Buhari’s re-election was riddled with substantial non-compliance with mandatory statutory provisions while the HDP is seeking a fresh election, on the basis that his party’s logo was not included in the ballot paper.

However, it was the position of the petitioners in their various petitions that the irregularity substantially affected the election, “such that the first respondent was not entitled to be returned as the winner of the presidential election”.

Recall that Atiku and the PDP in a joint petition insisted that the data they secured from INEC’s server revealed that they clearly defeated Buhari with over 1.6 million votes during the last presidential election.

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