Politics
Tribunal judgement imminent, as PDP, Atiku close case against Tinubu on Thursday
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections, Atiku Abubakar, has indicated that they will close their petition against the President, Bola Tinubu, on Thursday, June 22.
The lead counsel to the party and Atiku, Chris Uche, SAN, disclosed this on Tuesday at the resumed hearing in their petition before the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC).
This is just as the case of Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi is also drawing to a close, a development reflecting the imminence of judgement on the petitions against the outcome of the February 25, 2023 election.
In a joint petition, the PDP and its candidate, Atiku, are challenging the outcome of the February 25 election, which produced Tinubu as the elected President as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The petitioners, according to the pre-hearing schedule drafted by the court, were given three weeks to prove their case, which was slated to end Tuesday.
However, they were granted two extra days, which they lost in the course of the proceedings for different reasons – one of which was the June 12 public holiday in celebration of Democracy Day.
Although the petitioners stated during the preliminary hearing in the case that they would call a hundred witnesses in aid of their petition, they have so far called only 25.
After their session, Uche told journalists that, “We are closing our case on Thursday, it was supposed to end today, but because we lost two days, one of which was the June 12 public holiday, the court graciously extended our time by two days.”
He asserted that some of the documents they will tender in the last two days will take the place of the remaining 70 witnesses.
Also at Tuesday’s proceeding, their joint petition came to a premature end following the presentation of unsorted documents before the PEPC.
The court disagreed with their move to tender form EC8A series that is, polling unit results beginning in Abia State.
According to the court, the documents were not properly sorted.
In his defence, counsel for the PDP, Chris Uche, SAN, told the PEPC that it was difficult to get electoral materials, including Form EC8As from INEC on time.
He asked the court to admit the documents in evidence pending the proper numbering by lawyers for parties and the court registry after the close of the day’s proceedings.
He added that INEC should have properly arranged the documents before bringing them to court in line with a subpoena issued to the electoral umpire.
But INEC’s lawyer, Kemi Pinero, disagreed with Uche’s position, arguing it was incumbent on the parties to arrange the electoral documents given to them by the Commission through a subpoena
He added that the documents sought to be tendered by the PDP were brought by INEC’s officials from across the country.
He also stated that, despite producing the documents, the PDP had not paid for its certification.
Ruling on the arguments, the Justice Haruna Tsammani-led panel told Uche that it was the duty of his legal team to create a schedule of the documents after INEC had produced them through a subpoena.
After deliberations, the petitioners told the court that the legal team had agreed to take the documents back for arrangement and tendering by Wednesday.
After confirming the agreement of the respondents, the court adjourned the matter to June 21 for the continuation of the hearing.
Meanwhile, during proceedings, the Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, called a cloud engineer and architect, Clarita Ogar, for cross-examination before the PEPC in aid of their case against Tinubu.
The witness appeared before the court on Monday, but cross-examination was moved to Tuesday following objections by the respondents based on the late service of the witness deposition by the petitioners.
Led by Patrick Ikweato, SAN, who examined the witness, Ogar informed the court that she was subpoenaed to appear as an expert but not on behalf of Amazon, as she also clarified in her statement.
She insisted during cross-examination by INEC, represented by A.B. Mahmoud SAN, that contrary to claims by the commission, there was no technical glitch in the maintenance stage of the commission’s technical application used in the upload of the presidential election results.
She maintained that glitches could, however, occur at the testing stage of an application and not after deployment at the post-production maintenance stage, as suggested by Mahmoud.
Counsel for Tinubu, Wole Olanikpekun SAN, during cross-examination, put it to the witness that she was the LP’s house of representative candidate in Cross-River in the just concluded elections, which she affirmed.
The senior advocate asked the witness to confirm before the court that she also has a case in court against INEC bordering on her inability to upload some information to the commission’s platform in her bid to run for office.
In her response, Ogar argued that network failure could have come from either end, specifically from the side of the person performing the upload and not necessarily the server.
After the witness was discharged, the case of the petitioners could not proceed following their complaints that INEC had refused to give them sensitive documents.
Counsel for the petitioners, Livy Uzoukwu, SAN, lamented that they had subpoenaed INEC almost a month ago to produce the documents but that they deliberately refused to receive the service of the subpoena by the bailiff.
The senior advocate insisted that the electoral body must produce the remaining documents by tomorrow to enable them to advance their case which was slated to end the same day.
The court faulted their argument and questioned them on why they did not take further action following the alleged defiance exhibited by the commission.
The court, headed by Justice Tsammani, adjourned the petition to Wednesday, June 21st, for continuation.
Atiku and Obi who came second and third respectively according to the final results of the February 25 presidential elections, have been contesting the outcome which produced Tinubu, petitioning the Court to set aside his victory.
The Labour Party has demanded immediate release of Dr Chigbo Okoli, Chairman, sub-Committee on Registration and Revalidation of its National Transition Committee (NTC).
Tha party made the demand in a statement jointly signed by the Chairman and Secretary of the NTC, Mr Abdulwahed Omar and Mr Nnawuihe Nwauwa, respectively
In the statement made available to newsmen on Monday in Abuja, the party officials said Okoli was arrested by persons suspected to be officers of the Nigeria Police Force and had been held incommunicado.
“On Tuesday, the 25th of June 2024, around 2pm, gun-wielding armed policemen swooped on Dr Okoli after he left the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police of Federal
Capital Territory Command.
“They arrested him in a gestapo manner, without informing him of the offence he was suspected to have committed. Neither was he allowed to contact his lawyer nor any family member,” they said.
The officials added that Okoli has been held incommunicado since the time of his arrest and neither charged to court nor released on administrative bail.
They described Okoli as “a peaceful and law-abiding citizen of Nigeria that has neither been arrested nor accused of committing a crime”.
“Every attempt by his family, Attorneys and associates to access him has been unsuccessful.
“This is in clear violation of his fundamental human rights as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution, the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights and other statutes,” they said.
The party officials called on the National Security Adviser, the Inspector General of Police, among other security agencies, to ensure the immediate and safe release of Okoli forthwith.
The Secretaries to the Government of APC-controlled states have commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Progressive Governors for their outstanding leadership and governance.
In a communiqué issued after their quarterly meeting in Lokoja, Kogi State, the Secretaries expressed their appreciation for the progress made under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
They acknowledged the positive impact of the Governors’ policies and investments, which have led to economic growth and stability.
The meeting focused on strategies to support the Governors in advancing the Renewed Hope Agenda and finalising common policy frameworks in key governance areas.
The Secretaries reaffirmed their belief in the Agenda’s significance and praised the President and Governors for their exemplary leadership during this critical period in Nigeria’s history.
They pledged their unwavering support to the Progressive Governors in their mission to build a prosperous and sustainable future for all citizens.
Furthermore, the Secretaries praised the proactive measures taken by the Progressive Governors to ensure the security and well-being of all Nigerians.
As a result, they agreed to collaborate on establishing a framework for State Police to enhance security within the States.
The Secretaries to the Government of APC-controlled states have pledged their backing for a State Bill on Student Loans, aimed at boosting youth development and education in their respective states.
They also vowed to support the Progressive Governors in enhancing power supply across their states, acknowledging the crucial role of reliable electricity infrastructure in fostering job creation and economic growth.
Furthermore, the Secretaries encouraged all citizens to maintain their support for the leaders and actively engage in shaping a prosperous future for Nigeria.
By Austine Emmanuel, Kaduna
The controversies surrounding the leadership of the Action Alliance (AA) Party seems to have been brought to rest as a Federal high court sitting in Abuja dismissed the suit filed by some members of the Party challenging the Party’s National Convention held in Abeokuta which produced Adekunle Omo-Aje as the National Chairman of the Party.
Delivering his judgement, Justice James Omotosho, held that the officers produced by the National Convention are recognised officials of the Party.
According to him, the election was conducted in line with the Party’s constitution, saying the National Convention held at the Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta, was supervised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC.)
Reacting to the judgement, the National Chairman of the Party, Hon. Adekunle Omo-Aje described it as an end to the controversies surrounding the leadership of the Party.
“This case that we won today was not initiated by Kenneth Udeze, it was Ukadike Chinedu and Amb. Abdulrasheed, the former National Secretary of the Party, and Esther Esevohare, the Former Women Leader. They are the ones who took me and my National Executives to this Court, about our National Convention.
“Today’s ruling according to him is a victory for the rule of law and our democracy. I commend the judiciary for its uprightness. I agree with the position of the Hon. Justice Omotosho that there should be an end to litigation.
“Indeed, the Nigerian system of justice is improving before our very eyes or generation. By the grace of God, Action Alliance will never fall into the hands of dishonest and untrustworthy leaders.
“I further commend the neutrality of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Maitama during the pendency of this suit. Together, we can deepen democracy in Nigeria.”
It would be recalled that some members of the Action Alliance (AA) have sued Adekunle Omo-Aje, the party’s national chairman, over the conduct of the national convention.
The aggrieved members led by Ugochukwu Ogbuji, deputy national publicity secretary of the party, filed the suit before the federal high court in Abuja.
Ogbuji said the national convention ought not to have been conducted since the current tenure of the National Executive Committee (NEC) members was yet to expire.
“They went to Olusegun Obasanjo’s Library in Ogun State on October 7, 2023, and did what they called selective election without the consent of the National Working Committee (NWC) and NEC of the party,” he said.
“There was no meeting that was held that the NWC took a decision that we should have a national convention.”
Ogbuji alleged that some of those who attended the convention were not members of AA.
According to him, the plaintiffs did not bother to explore the internal mechanisms of the party to settle the dispute because Omo-Aje would not listen to advice.
The plaintiffs are praying for the court to set aside the convention which was held on October 7.
They also want the court to compel Omo-Aje to produce his senior secondary school certificate examination (SSCE) certificate which is the minimum qualification required to be the national chairman of AA.
“We are now approaching the court that if such a person has the basic requirement, he should present it to the court,” he said.
“That is what makes him the national chairman. We are saying that the court should ask him to produce it.
“Let us know if he has it or not. For now, we have not seen it. Let him present it to the court.”
Other plaintiffs in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1447/2023, include Amb. Suleiman Abdulrasheed the former National secretary Esther Esevohare, the former national women leader; Deborah Banjo, former national treasurer; Samuel Oboro, former financial secretary; Mike Madu, former national youth leader; Chinedu Ukadike, an ex-officio of Southeast; Sunday John-Bull, the ex-officio of south-south, and Isa Haladu.
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