2023 Election: Presidential Tribunal Asks Obi, Tinubu, INEC’s Lawyers To Harmonize Briefs, Adjourns

The Presidential Election Petitions Court sitting in Abuja has advised lawyers representing Peter Obi, Labour Party, Independent National Electoral Commission, president-elect Bola Tinubu, vice president-elect Kashim Shettima, and the All Progressives Congress to meet and harmonize their briefs before the next adjourned date for pre-hearing on May 10, by 2 pm.

As seen in the pre-hearing form filled by Obi’s legal team led Dr Livy Uzoukwu SAN, the LP candidate is seeking “Applications for subpoena, objections, enforcement of order of court not obeyed by INEC and other applications arising in the course of the hearing.”

At the pre-hearing session on Monday, Wole Olanipekun SAN counsel for Bola Tinubu and his Vice President-elect, Kashim Shettima, said he already filed his response objecting to Obi’s submission.

The lawyer for the Independent National Electoral Commission, Mahmoud Yakubu SAN, also submitted applications against Obi.

Subsequently, the five-man panel of the court led by Justice Haruna Tsammani adjourned to May 10 by 2 pm.

He advised parties to meet and resolve the issues that will be objected to in the case.

The pre-hearing session will pave the way for the main hearing where the panel would have drawn up the key issues for determination.

Obi, in his petition, maintained that Tinubu should be disqualified for not meeting the constitutional requirements of having the highest votes cast in 2/3 of the states in the country and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.