The Presidential Election Petition Court sitting at the Court of Appeal in Abuja has directed parties in the petition filed by the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) against the declaration of Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the President elect to harmonize the processes filed at the pre-hearing session and return back to the court on Thursday, May 11 for continuation of the pre-hearing.
Justice Haruna Tsammani, leading five-member panel of Justices of the court handling the petition also directed parties to file their responses to be taken at during the pre-hearing.
When the petition was called, S.A.T Abubakar who conducted the day’s proceedings for the APM told the court that the party has filed answers to the issues raised by the respondents, which he adopted.
Counsel to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Abubakar Mahmood (SAN), informed the Court of preliminary information sheet, which he adopted as the Commission’s response to the petitioner’s application.
He said, INEC has three applications, which he seeks the court to allow at the appropriate time.
Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) on his part, adopted the preliminary answers of the APC filed on May 2. Chief Akin Olujinmi (SAN) who represented Tinubu and the Vice President elect, Kashim Shettima also adopted the answers to the pre-hearing information sheet of his clients filed on May 3 and also filed an application for the striking out or dismissal of the petition of the APM.
Counsel to the Katsina state governor, Kabiru Masari, who is the 5th respondent in the petition, Chief Gani Aliyu also adopted the briefs he filed at the session.
The APM is contending that Tinubu was not qualified to contest the election on the grounds of the alleged double nomination of his vice-presidential candidate.
It is also questioning Tinubu’s candidacy on the grounds of the substitution of the initial “placeholder”, Kabir Masari, with Shettima.
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