Buhari, Atiku Election Tribunal to commence sitting

Tom Okpe, Abuja

The inaugural sitting of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) in the March Presidential Election is expected to commence sitting today, Wednesday 8 May, 2019.

The PEPT issued a notice that the preliminary sitting of the Tribunal would be issued during the week according to a source close to the court.

This Notice is said to have been served to all the parties involved in the petitions, including the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday.

Others that were served through their lawyers included the All Progressives Congress (APC), President Muhammadu Buhari, the APC Presidential candidate and the declared winner, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the party’s Presidential candidate and the petitioner.

The President of the Court of Appeal will lead the five-man panel that will hear the PDP and its candidate, Atiku Abubakar’s petition while the Tribunal has three other petitions by various political parties and their candidates to hear.

The five-man tribunal has 180 days period from the date of filing of the petition on March 18 to hear and deliver its judgment in the case in which the petitioners said they had assembled about 400 witnesses to testify.

It was also revealed on Monday that the PEPT ‎was this week expected to issue the notice for the pre-hearing session on the petition filed by the PDP and Atiku Anubakar during the pre-hearing session which the Electoral Act provides must be completed within 14 days, the Tribunal will fix what it describes as “clear dates” for the hearing of the petition.