The Presidential Election Petition court has ordered the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Peter Obi and his party to present their joint petition against the February 25 presidential election within three weeks.
According to Daily Post reports, the court also ordered the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who is the target of the petition, to defend his victory at the election along with the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, within five days.
Obi, through his counsel, Professor Awa Kalu SAN, had requested for seven weeks to establish their allegations against the disputed election that produced Tinubu.
The chairman of the Court, Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani, issued the order on Tuesday while presenting the pre-hearing sessions report of the Court.
Among others, Justice Tsammani ordered that Obi must open his petition for hearing on May 30 and end same on June 23.
The Court said that it arrived at the decision because of the limited time within which the petition must be disposed off.
The Court also ordered the consolidation of the petitions so as to ensure expeditious hearing.
The Court threw out the vehement objection of Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress, APC, to the consolidation.
Immediately after the order of the Court was handed down, Obi, who was in court to witness the proceedings, took permission from the court and left on the ground that they were going to prepare for the full blown hearing of the petition.
Meanwhile, Peter Obi, has cleared the air on telling the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal to allow him produce 50 witnesses in seven weeks.
This is as the Labour Party flag bearer denied seeking for seven weeks from the court to get witnesses for the ongoing petition, contrary to reports being circulated.
According to a statement by the Obi-Datti Media Head, Diran Onifade, on Sunday, the reports that Obi had asked the tribunal to give him seven weeks to produce his witnesses at the tribunal were misleading and a misrepresentation of what Obi’s counsel presented before the tribunal.
“Peter Obi did not ask the court to give him seven weeks to bring his witnesses. He only implied he would be through with all 50 of them in seven weeks” he said.
