Posted by By GODWIN TSA, Abuja on
The presidential election petition tribunal will on September 3 be moved by the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) to consolidadte its petition with the ones filed by the Action Congress (AC) and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, General Muhammadu Buhari, and the All Grand Progressive Alliance (APGA) to jointly challenge the outcome of the April 21 presidential elections.
The presidential election petition tribunal will on September 3 be moved by the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) to consolidadte its petition with the ones filed by the Action Congress (AC) and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, General Muhammadu Buhari, and the All Grand Progressive Alliance (APGA) to jointly challenge the outcome of the April 21 presidential elections.
This position was canvassed on Monday by counsel to ANPP, Chief Chiemezie Ikeazor (SAN]) through an oral application. But the tribunal had, while responding to his oral request, asked him to file a written application to that effect.
This came as the tribunal struck out the petitions brought by the Hope Democratic Party (HDP) and the Africa Liberation Party (ALP) against the election victory of President Umaru Musa Yar' Adua and his Vice, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, for want of merit.
Chief Ikeazor, who is spear-heading the fresh consolidation bid, told the tribunal that since all the petitions are seeking a common purpose of nullifying the presidential election, it was better to collapse them into one formidable petition so as to save both the time of the tribunal and the petitioners.
He further said his party had contacted other presidential candidates, including Buhari, former Vice-President Abubakar and his party, the AC, Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu and his party, the APGA on the possibility of a joint petition.
He was, however, quick to disclose that only Ojukwu had not been contacted, adding that the response of those contacted had not shown full endorsement.
It would be noted that the ANPP and its presidential candidate filed separate petitions at the tribunal. Ikeazor explained that his client had decided to consolidate its petition not only with the separate one filed by Buhari, but other with those of presidential candidates.
While adducing reasons behind the fresh push for consolidation, Ikeazor stated that it was common-sense that the petitions should be consolidated, since all of them were seeking the same major relief.
According to him, the common reliefs in both petitions was the nullification of the election result and a re-run of the presidential election.
He pointed out that taking such step would not only save the time of the court and petitioners, but save cost and would avoid duplication of proceedings.
The implication of this would be that the outcome of the joint petition, would now affect others, as it would be taken that the chosen petition had represented others.
Chairman of the Tribunal had pointed out to the ANPP counsel that Ahamba had already filed two appeals at the Supreme Court against rulings of the Tribunal
during the pre-trial sessions, while the ANPP had not gone beyond the preliminary.
The advice from Justice Ogebe did not stop Ikeazor from pushing ahead with his bigger merger plan, while assuring that all the loose ends would have been tidied before the adjourned date.
Counsel to Yar'Adua and Jonathan, Chief Wole Olanipekun {SAN}, said his clients had no objection to the planned consolidation.
In striking out the two petitions against Yar'Adua, the Tribunal held that the one filed by Hope Democratic Party did not join juristic persons, while that of Africa Liberation Party was said to have been filed without substantial compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2006.
Instead of joining the Inspector General of Police and the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission in their official capacities, the HDP, according to the Tribunal, joined them in their private capacities, which made its petition incurably defective.
The ALP, according to the Tribunal, rendered its petition nugatory by not attaching its list of witnesses and exhibits as well as coming before the Tribunal without definite prayers.
Chief Olanipekun, in his preliminary objection to the two petitions, had prayed that they be thrown out on these grounds. The Tribunal affirmed his argument.