The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its candidate, Atiku Abubakar, have submitted a request for an order allowing live coverage of daily proceedings on the lawsuit they brought against the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, as the Presidential Election Petition Court begins hearing on Monday.
Atiku, who placed second in the February 25 presidential election, expressly requested “an order, directing the court’s registry and the parties on modalities for admission of Media Practitioners and their Equipment into the courtroom” through his legal team, which was led by Chris Uche, SAN.
The former vice president and candidate for the PDP argued that the petition he filed against the president-elect was “an issue of national importance and public interest.”
He said that the action covered the voters and citizens of the 36 federation states as well as the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja, who he claimed had cast ballots and taken part in the presidential election.
The International Community was equally interested in matters relating to Nigeria’s electoral process, he pointed out to the court.
Atiku and the PDP argued in the motion that their case against Tinubu was one for the public interest because millions of Nigerian citizens and voters, who are stakeholders, have the constitutional right to participate in the proceedings.
This particular electoral dispute has a peculiar constitutional dimension.
They argue that deviating from the rules to permit a controlled broadcast of the proceedings, in this case, is in keeping with the adage that justice must not only be done but must also be seen to be done in light of the enormous and tremendous technological advancements and developments in Nigeria and elsewhere, including the current trend by the court towards embracing electronic procedures, virtual hearings, and electronic filing.
“Televising court proceedings is not alien to this court and will enhance public confidence”, the petitioners added.
In his joint petition with the PDP, Atiku asked the court to revoke the Certificate of Return that the All Progressives Congress, the party in power, had given to Tinubu through the Independent National Election Commission, INEC.
He insisted that the Electoral Act of 2022’s requirements were not followed, rendering Tinubu’s announcement as the election’s winner “illegal.”
However, in a response, Tinubu questioned the legal validity of petitions that sought to overturn his election victory through a group of lawyers under the direction of Wole Olanipekun, SAN.
Atiku was characterised by Tinubu in a preliminary objection he filed before the court as a persistent loser who had switched political parties numerous times since 1993 in search of power.
It will be recalled that on March 1, INEC declared Tinubu the winner of the presidential election over the other 17 contenders who ran for the position.
Atiku received a total of 6,984,520 votes while Obi received a total of 6,101,533 votes with the eventual winner Tinubu receiving 8,794,726 votes overall.
In addition to Atiku and the PDP, the Labour Party, LP, and its third-place finisher in the poll, Peter Obi, are on equal footing with them in the courtroom to challenge Tinubu’s victory.
All of the petitions that disgruntled presidential candidates and their political parties submitted to a three-member PEPC panel on Monday will begin a pre-hearing session. The panel will conduct its hearings at the Court of Appeal in Abuja.