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| Bola Ahmed Tinubu |
The Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC, convened in Abuja, has taken a significant step towards addressing the three petitions challenging the validity of the 2023 presidential election results.
Under the leadership of Justice Haruna Tsammani, a five-member panel of the court unanimously dismissed objections raised by President-elect Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, regarding the consolidation of the petitions.
The court recognized that the nature of these cases required consolidation since they all pertain to the same election.
Consequently, May 30 has been scheduled as the date for Mr. Peter Obi, the Labour Party candidate, to present his case against the outcome of the presidential election held on February 25.
Although Mr. Obi initially indicated that he would require seven weeks to present his case along with 50 witnesses, the court ruled that a period of three weeks would suffice. Additionally, the court granted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mr. Tinubu, and the Vice President-elect, Senator Kashim Shettima, five days each to defend the petition. The fourth respondent in the case, Kabiru Masari, was allotted three days to present his defense.
It is important to note that the court emphasized that all parties involved would submit their final briefs of argument on August 5, after which a date for the judgment would be determined.