TRIBUNAL: Tinubu Kicks As Atiku Seeks Consolidation Of His Petition With Obi’s

….You Can’t Get 7 Weeks To Call Witnesses, Panel Tells Obi

The presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, has asked the Presidential Election Petitions Court to consolidate all the petitions before it into one including that of the Labour Party and its presidential flagbearer, Peter Obi.

The PDP, LP and the Allied Peoples Movement are challenging the outcome of the 2023 presidential election through different petitions.

The PDP lawyer, Eyitayo Jegede SAN, told the court that consolidation of all petitions will afford speedy determination of the petitions and will not make the cases lose their character.

On his part, INEC’s counsel, Femi Ihero said “we are indifferent to whatever order the court makes.”

But Akin Olujimi SAN, who stood in for President-elect Bola Tinubu and VP-elect Kashim Shettima, urged the court not to order consolidation of all the petitions.

He was of the view that 180 days allotted for determination of presidential petitions is enough and there was no reason for joining all the petitions.
 
In the same vein, Tinubu’s party, the All Progressives Congress, urged the court to refuse consolidation of all the petitions.

For the Labour Party, its legal team led by Awa Kalu SAN said as for consolidation, the law vests the court with the discretion to decide whether or not different cases should be consolidated.

Meanwhile, at the sitting today, the panel asked Obi’s team to clearly state how much time it needs to call witnesses for its petition.

THE WHISTLER reports that Kalu had on Saturday said he needed 7 Weeks to present about 50 witnesses.

But the panel told him to reduce it because by the time he was done bringing witnesses, the court would only have four days to write judgement on all the petitions.

But Kalu pleaded that the panel takes into consideration that the Independent National Electoral Commission was yet to allow Obi’s legal team to inspect electoral materials, including the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, machines.

“We have not seen the BVAS”, he said but later brought down the time he needs to 6 weeks.

But the panel of judges led by Justice Haruna Tsammani further pressed Kalu to reduce the number weeks, asking what bearing forensic report on BVAS has on the witnesses he was bringing to testify against the election victory of president-elect Bola Tinubu

“That report will speak more, if we have it, we will present all our witnesses in 14 days.

“The documents will be spoken to by the witnesses,” Kalu insisted.

But INEC’s lawyer, Femi Ihero, told the court that electoral documents are accessible by Labour party “upon payment of requisite fees.”

He added that INEC has promised to grant Obi access to all electoral materials but Kalu told the court that that promise has not been kept.

Responding, a member of the panel told Kalu that since INEC has promised to make the electoral materials available in open court, they have taken note of it.

Responding to all parties, Justice Haruna Tsammani said that once the panel issues its pre-hearing report, it will be binding on all parties.

“This proceeding is adjourned to May 23 for issuance of pre-hearing report,” the court held.