The Labour Party’s, LP, candidate for president, Mr. Peter Gregory Obi, has been given three weeks by the Presidential Election Petition Court, or PEPC, to submit a joint petition challenging the results of the presidential election held on February 25.
The petition’s target, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the president-elect, and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, were also asked by the court to provide a five-day defense of their respective election victories.
Obi asked for seven weeks to prove his claims on the disputed election that produced Tinubu with the assistance of his attorney, Professor Awa Kalu SAN.
Tuesday, while presenting the court’s report on the pre-hearing sessions, Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani, the chairman of the court, issued the directive.
Justice Tsammani directed, among other things, that Obi must begin the hearing on his petition on May 30 and finish it on June 23.
The Court said that the short amount of time available for the petition’s resolution led to its judgment.
Obi, who was present to observe the proceedings, requested permission from the court to leave right after the court issued its ruling on the grounds that they needed to be ready for the petition’s formal hearing.
To enable a quick hearing, the Court has ordered the aggregation of the applications in the meantime.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) and Tinubu’s fervent opposition to the consolidation were rejected by the court.