The Presidential election Tribunal sitting in Abuja is set to deliver judgement in the petition filed by the People Democratic Party PDP and its candidate Alhaji Atiku Abubakar challenging the election of President Mohammadu Buhari.
At the commencement of the sitting today, the tribunal dismissed a preliminary objection filed by INEC, seeking a dismissal of the petition of the PDP and its candidate, for failure to join the vice president as a party in the suit having participated in the election that is the subject of the appeal.
The tribunal also dismissed an application by INEC seeking the disqualification of Atiku’s counsel Dr. Livinus Uzoukwu SAN.
INEC’s counsel Ustaz Yunus Usman had argued that processes endorsed by Uzoukwu were invalid because he was not a lawyer known to the Nigerian Judiciary.
However Chairman of the Tribunal, justice Mohammed Garba noted that the petitioner’s counsel in his counter affidavid proved beyond doubt that Uzoukwu is a legal practitioner.
Meanwhile the tribunal struck out the paragraphs in the petition where the petitioner alleged that there was arrest, harrassment, intimidation e.t.c by the Nigerian police.
Justice Garba agreed with the INEC lawyerthat for such a serious allegation against the police they ought to have been joined as a party to the suit.
The tribunal also denied INEC’s request to dismiss Abubakar’s prayer seeking President Buhari’s disqualification on the grounds that he was not qualified to contest the election.
The panel also dismissed the contention by Buhari that Atiku did not qualify to file the petition dismissed by the tribunal.
Tribunal agrees with counsel to the president that it cannot adjudicate on allegations that vice president Osinbajo used government funds to induce voters.
