Atiku, PDP get tribunal’s nod to serve Buhari through APC

AT a pre-hearing session conducted yesterday, the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal (PEPT) acceded to the request by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the February 23 election, Atiku Abubakar, for permission to serve their petition on President Muhammadu Buhari through the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The PDP and Atiku, who, by their petition, are challenging Buhari’s victory at the election, applied for leave to effect service of the petition on the President on the grounds that they were having difficulty serving him.

The three-man tribunal, after listening to Chris Uche (SAN), who moved the ex-parte motion filed by the PDP and Atiku, granted them permission to serve through substituted means.

Justice Abdul Aboki, who led the panel, ordered that Buhari, who is listed as the second respondent to the petition, be served through any senior official or an officer of the APC at the party’s secretariat in Abuja.

The Judge, in his lead ruling, said: “It is in the interest of justice” to grant the prayers in the petitioners’ motion.

Three more parties have joined the PDP to challenge the outcome of the presidential election, which was one by incumbent President and candidate of the APC.

Read also: ‘Atiku should accept election outcome’

The parties have dropped their petitions before the PEPT in Abuja, it was learnt yesterday.

With the one filed on March 18 by PDP and Atiku, the number of petitions against Buhari’s election have risen to four.

One of the petitions was filed by Hope Democratic Party (HDP) and Ambrose Owuru, who claimed to be the party’s presidential candidate.

The petition, marked: CA/PEPC/001/2019 was filed on March 7, before that of the PDP and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, which was marked: CA/PEPC/002/2019.

The third, marked: CA/PEPC/003/2019 was filed by the Coalition for Change (C4C) and Geff Ojinika, who claimed to be the party’s presidential candidate.

The core contention of the authors of the third petition is that the election, held on February 23 this year, “was vitiated by substantial non-compliance with mandatory statutory provisions, which irregularity substantially affected the election, such that the 1st respondent (Buhari) was not entitled to be returned as the winner of the presidential election.”

The fourth petition, marked: CA/PEPC/004/2019, was filed on March 19 this year by the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) and Pastor Aminchi Habu, listed as the party’s presidential candidate.