Day 2 @ PEPC: Request for live transmission of proceedings puts parties in tight corner
BY TUNDE OPALANA and ANDREW OROLUA
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Atiku Abubakar said their request for live broadcast of proceedings at the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) is in quest for openness of the entire process.
National Publicity Secretary of the party, Hon. Debo Ologunagba at a press briefing Tuesday said the motion on motive requesting the live broadcast is in the interest of the nation’s democracy.
The party’s spokesperson said “as you are aware, the Pre-hearing Session in our Petition before the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) commenced today, Tuesday, May 9, 2023.
“The PDP and Atiku Abubakar have a water tight Petition. Our facts and body of evidence are incontrovertible. Our Party restates its confidence in the ability of the Judiciary to discharge its Constitutional duty dispassionately based on the evidence before it.
“At the Pre-hearing Session today, our Legal Team announced the filing of a Motion on Notice before the PEPC requesting for a live broadcast of the proceedings of the Court.
“This application, which is innocuous, is in the interest of openness which is an essential ingredient of participatory democracy especially as Nigerians are desirous of being directly involved at every stage of the electoral process.”
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The PDP called on Nigerians to remain at alert, informed and law-abiding as it commence this crucial phase in the quest to rescue, rebuild and redirect the nation from the APC.
The party appreciated Nigerians, the media, civil society, all lovers of democracy for their solidarity and support in the bid by the PDP to retrieve the Presidential mandate freely given to it at the February 25, 2023 Presidential election but allegedly “brazenly stolen by the APC, aided by INEC.”
Meanwhile the Presidential Election Petition Court has said that the application filed by Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and it’s presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar seeking approval for live broadcast of the Court proceedings of petition will be taken once the respondents file their replies .
Presiding justice of the panel Haruna Tsammani gave the indication on Tuesday while adjourning the Petition filed by Atiku Abubakar and PDP to Thursday, May 11 by 2 pm
The Court directed the parties to file all their processes and sort out with other counsel in their case those documents they would be opposing during the hearing.
Atiku’s lead counsel Chief Chris Uche SAN, had on Tuesday informed the Court that he had filed the application seeking approval for live broadcast of the proceedings of their petition.
He said he had served all the respondents with the application and solicited their cooperation to file their responses without insisting on the rule of the court which provides a longer period of time “since the whole essence of pre-hearing is to bridge the time.”
Uche SAN also told the Court that the 2nd and 3rd respondents lawyers were alluding to applications seeking to strike out or dismiss the petitioner information sheet while addressing the court. He pleaded with the Court to direct the respondents to serve him with the said applications.
In their responses ,Chief Lateef Fagbemi SAN counsel for All Progressives Congress,APC, Abubakar Mahmoud SAN,counsel for Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, and Chief Akin Olujimi SAN, counsel for Bola Tinubu confirmed receipt of the application.
They said however that they were served with the process yesterday and are within time to respond. They said that in any case their applications were being served during the proceedings and Uche should be fair enough and acknowledge that he was being served.
According to Fagbemi, “my immediate response is that you will hear from us by the time allowed by the rule.”
The senior lawyer said that besides, he had filed pre -hearing information sheet which he applied to adopt and the answers contained therein as their position in the pre hearing session.
Abubakar Mahmoud SAN and Chief Akin Olujimi SAN also followed same process in identifying the court processes they had filed.
