The Presidential Election Petition Court sitting in Abuja, on Monday, barred Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State from standing before it as the representative of the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
The Plateau state governor had immediately the first petition that was lodged against the outcome of the 2023 presidential election was called up, stood up and announced himself as Tinubu’s representative.
“My Lord’s my name is Simon Lalong and I am here to represent Tinubu,” the governor stated.
However, Justice Haruna Tsammani led a five-member panel that declined to recognize him as Tinubu’s representative.
“You cannot represent an individual. Tinubu is not a corporation that would need a representative,” the presiding justice held.
“My Lords, in that case, I will represent the All Progressives Congress, APC,” Governor Lalong responded.
Meanwhile, the court has adjourned further pre-hearing session on the petition the Labour Party and its candidate, Peter Obi filed to nullify Tinubu’s election victory till Wednesday.
The court equally fixed the same date for another petition by the Action Peoples Party, APP, while it adjourned the case of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, till Tuesday.
While adjourning the cases, the court urged the parties to identify all the witness statements and documents they would rely on or object to during the actual hearing of the petitions.
Among those in court to witness the proceedings included the presidential candidate of the LP, Mr Peter Obi.
Meanwhile,,The Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) on Monday in Abuja said it would passionately and objectively look into the petitions filed against the declaration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC, as the winner of the February 25 Presidential election.
Chairman of the court, Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani, gave the assurance at the inaugural sitting at the Court of Appeal in Abuja.
He said that the court would do justice to all the parties when it comes up in the judgments on the petitions.
He, however, appealed to lawyers involved in the petitions to avoid unnecessary technicalities, sentiments, emotions and time-wasting while arguing for their respective clients.
A former Vice President and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar, and Peter Obi of the Labour Party, LP, among others, filed the petitions.
Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN, who is standing for the President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and Chief Chris Uche SAN standing for Atiku Abubakar, assured the court of lawyers’ cooperation.
At the time of this report, Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong, Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Mr Peter Gregory Obi; Senator Victor Umeh, Labour Party’s factional national Chairman, Julius Abure, have arrived in the court.
Over 200 Senior Advocates of Nigeria SANs are also in the court for cases of their respective clients.
However, The Peoples Democratic Party and its presidential candidate in the just concluded presidential election, Atiku Abubakar, have filed an application for an order to allow the live coverage of the daily court proceedings on the case they brought against the president-elect, Bola Tinubu, which begins today.
In the motion by his legal team led by Chris Uche, SAN, he specifically appled for “An order directing the Court’s Registry and the parties on modalities for admission of Media Practitioners and their Equipment into the courtroom.”
Atiku, who is a two time presidential candidate of the PDP, said the petition was a matter of national concern and public interest.
His argument is that the case involved citizens and electorates in the 36 sates of the Federation who participated in the just concluded presidential polls while adding that the international community is interested in Nigeria’s electoral process.
In their motion, they are also contending that, “With the huge and tremendous technological advances and developments in Nigeria and beyond, including the current trend by this 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 court, and will enhance public confidence”, the petitioners noted.
They also prayed the court to withdraw the Certificate of Return issued to Tinubu by the ruling All Progressives Congress, by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
According to him, the decision to declare Tinubu, winner of the presidential election “invalid by reason of non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022.”
But in a reply through his team of lawyers led by Wole Olanipekun, SAN, Tinubu, queried the legal competence of petitions seeking to invalidate his election victory.
In a preliminary objection he entered before the court, Tinubu, described Atiku as a consistent serial loser that had since 1993, crisscrossed different political parties, in search of power.
Recall that Tinubu had been declared the winner of the presidential election after scoring a total of 8,794,726 votes to defeat Atiku who polled a total of 6,984,520 votes and Obi who came third with a total of 6,101,533 votes.
