The Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar’s stance on the consolidation of the three petitions contesting Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s eligibility and the declaration of Tinubu as the victor of the February 25 presidential election has been upheld by the Presidential Election Petition Court, or PEPC.
The three petitions filed by Atiku, Peter Obi of the Labour Party LP, and the Allied People’s Movement APM have been consolidated, according to the court’s pre-hearing session report delivered on Tuesday by Justice Stephen Jonah Ada.
The Court concurred with Atiku’s attorneys that merging the petitions in accordance with the requirements of the Electoral Act 2022 was reasonable and suitable given the time-bound nature of the petitions, particularly for expedited hearing reasons.
In announcing the consolidation, Justice Ada said that the Court made this judgment since all three petitions were linked to the same election and pronouncement of results.
Tinubu has vigorously opposed the consolidation effort, arguing that it would not serve the interests of justice.
However, Atiku and PDP had pleaded with the Court to accept the proposal in order to be able to adequately address their individual complaints over Tinubu’s election. They considered the opposition to consolidation as a ruse to postpone a speedy resolution of the three cases.
The Court has granted Atiku and PDP three weeks to present their grievances about alleged anomalies in the conduct of the presidential election against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
They must also state their concerns to Tinubu’s eligibility for the election and his subsequent declaration as the winner of the 2023 presidential election within the allotted time.
Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani, the court’s chairman, has set May 30 for a full hearing on the three petitions.
