After the Presidential Election Petitions Court met on Tuesday in Abuja, the legal team of the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, reacted to President-elect Bola Tinubu’s upcoming inauguration.
In a statement, Atiku’s lawyer, Chris Uche SAN, urged supporters of the PDP candidate not to lose sleep over President-elect Bola Tinubu’s inauguration ceremony on May 29, whose electoral victory is being challenged in court.
People are inquiring about May 29th. “We want to reassure people that Tinubu’s inauguration is a ceremonial act that does not bind the court’s hands, Uche said.
He went on to say that the court can overturn an election whether or not a previously declared winner has been sworn in.
Meanwhile, the tribunal ordered petitioners to begin calling witnesses on May 30.
The PEPT consolidated all petitions before it into one, having determined that they all challenged the outcome of the 2023 election.
Uche expressed satisfaction with the consolidation of all petitions filed by the PDP, Labour Party, and Allied Peoples Movement, as well as the three weeks granted by the court to prove their case.
He stated that the court’s decision is intended to expedite the case.
We are very happy that pre-hearing session has been speedily concluded and we are going into proper hearing, he said.
Lawyers to the Independent National Electoral Commission and Tinubu refused to speak to the press after the Tribunal gave the fresh directive on the petition challenging the election.