The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPC) in Abuja has postponed the pre-hearing session for the petition filed by Peter Obi, the candidate of the Labour Party (LP), against President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The challenge is centered around Tinubu’s declaration as the candidate of the All Progressive Party (APC) and the subsequent victory in the 2023 presidential election.
The tribunal, led by Justice Haruna Tsammani, has rescheduled the session to Friday, May 19, due to unresolved document-related issues and other factors.
During the proceedings on Wednesday, a clash erupted between factional leaders of the Labour Party over seating arrangements in the presidential election petition court.
The altercation arose when Lamidi Apapa, the party’s acting national chairman, confronted Akin Osuntokun, the director-general of Peter Obi’s presidential campaign council, upon Apapa’s arrival in the courtroom. Apapa insisted that, as the legitimate head of the Labour Party, he should be seated in the plaintiffs’ gallery.
However, the Tribunal declined to acknowledge Apapa’s appearance, and when the petition was called, Dudu Manugu, the National Women’s Leader of the party, attempted to appear on behalf of the Labour Party.
Justice Haruna Tsamani clarified that if two individuals represent the party, their appearances will not be recorded.
When the hearing resumed, counsel for the Labour Party, Livy Uzoukwu, informed the court that the scheduled meeting to reach an agreement on the documents to be presented had not been productive.
Uzoukwu stated that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had only provided 30% of the required documents, contrary to the commitment made by INEC Chairman, Mahmoud Yakubu, to provide all necessary documents.
Uzoukwu further mentioned that the party has not received documents related to Rivers State, despite requests. According to him, the Resident Electoral Commissioner claimed that no forms EC8A were available but has yet to provide a written confirmation.
However, INEC counsel, Abubakar Mahmoud, expressed surprise at the allegations, stating that the Labour Party’s counsel did not attend the agreed-upon meeting and walked out of the rescheduled one.
Mahmoud clarified that the documents for Rivers and Sokoto states were indeed provided, but the Labour Party refused to pay ₦1.5 million for Sokoto State, and they have yet to receive Form EC8A for Rivers State.
He also noted that although some documents were handed over to the party, they declined to collect them until the complete set was available. Mahmoud assured the court of their commitment to providing full assistance in an open manner.
