Presidential Tribunal Adjourns Peter Obi’s Pre-Hearing Against Tinubu To May 19

The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja witnessed a tense atmosphere on Wednesday as it adjourned proceedings to Friday, May 19 for the pre-hearing of the petition filed by Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), against President-Elect Bola Tinubu.

Both the LP’s National Chairman, Julius Abure, and the party’s factional chairman, Lamidi Apapa, were present in court on Wednesday, adding to the already heated situation.

The Tribunal had previously adjourned the pre-hearing session on Obi and the LP’s petition to May 17, as requested by the petitioners.

However, when the justices arrived to commence the day’s proceedings, they refused to acknowledge the representation of the party, except for Obi, leading to a mild drama between the two factions of the Labour Party regarding who should be in court.

Read Also: Labour Party Drama: ‘Acting’ Chairman, Lamidi Apapa Embarrassed At Presidential Tribunal Venue

Justice Haruna Tsamani made it clear that if two individuals represent the party, they will not be officially recorded. This led to a confrontation as Apapa attempted to occupy the seat reserved for Abure but was met with resistance.

During the resumed hearing, Livy Uzoukwu, the counsel for the Labour Party, informed the court that the scheduled meeting to agree on the documents to be tendered for the hearing did not yield significant results. Uzoukwu stated that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had only provided 30% of the required documents, contrary to the commitment made by INEC Chairman, Mahmoud Yakubu.

Uzoukwu further mentioned that the party had not received the documents related to Rivers State, despite a request for them. He claimed that the Resident Electoral Commissioner of Rivers State stated that no Form EC8A was available, but the commissioner has yet to provide a written statement regarding this matter.

In response, Abubakar Mahmoud, the counsel for INEC, expressed surprise at the allegations made by the Labour Party’s counsel. He stated that the party did not attend the agreed meeting and walked out of the rescheduled meeting. Mahmoud clarified that the documents for Rivers and Sokoto states were indeed provided, but the Labour Party refused to pay the required sum of 1.5 million naira for Sokoto State. He also noted that the Form EC8A for Rivers State had not been given to them, although some documents were already provided, but the party refused to collect them until they were complete.

Mahmoud assured the court that they were making every effort to assist in an open manner and were willing to pay any amount for a document.

The adjournment of the proceedings and the confrontations between the factions of the Labour Party added to the dramatic atmosphere at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal. The upcoming session on Friday will likely continue to be closely watched as the petition challenging the outcome of the presidential elections unfolds.

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