2023 Presidential Election: PDP Wants Media To Report Proceedings As Peter Obi Shows Up At Tribunal Sittings Venue

Former governor of Anambra state, Mr. Peter Obi, who was the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the presidential election held on February 25,   was at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal sittings venue in Abuja on Monday

Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau state, who was the Director General  of the Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Council,  was also there.

 It will be recalled that Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) , Prof. Mahmood Yakubu  had declared  Asiwaju Bola Tinubu , who was the APC presidential candidate,   winner  of the 2023 Presidential Election in February.

Tinubu had 8,794,726 votes , Atiku Abubakar, who was the PDP presidential candidate, got  6,984,520 votes,  Peter Obi  had 6,101,533 votes while the presidential candidate of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabiu Kwankwaso  got 1,496,687 votes.

PDP, LP, and some other parties had  rejected the  election outcome  and had asked the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal to annul Tinubu’s victory.

In another development,  former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has asked the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) to allow  a live broadcast of its proceedings

Team@orientactualmags.com learned Atiku and the PDP in an application dated May 5,  has  specifically prayed the tribunal for  ‘An order Directing the Court’s Registry and the parties on modalities for admission of Media Practitioners and their Equipment into the courtroom’.

The application filed on their behalf by their team of lawyers led by Chief Chris Uche, SAN, is predicated amongst other grounds that: ‘the matter before the Honourable Court is a dispute over the outcome of the Presidential Election held on 25th February 2023, a matter of national concern and public interest, involving citizens and voters in the 36 States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, who voted and participated in the said election; and the International Community with regard to the workings of Nigeria’s Electoral Process’. 

They argued that being a unique electoral dispute with a peculiar constitutional dimension, it is a matter of public interest that has millions of Nigerian citizens and voters as stakeholders with a constitutional right to get access to information..

‘An integral part of the constitutional duty of the Court to hold proceedings in public is discretion to allow public access to proceedings either physically or by electronic means.  

With the huge and tremendous technological advances and developments in Nigeria and beyond, including the current trend by this Honourable Court towards embracing electronic procedures, virtual hearing and electronic filing, a departure from the Rules to allow a regulated televising of the proceedings in this matter is in consonance with the maxim that justice must not only be done, but must be seen to be done.

Televising court proceedings is not alien to this Honourable Court, and it will enhance public confidence’, the lawyers submitted.

No date has been fixed for hearing in the fresh application-Team@orientactualmags.com Do you have any information you wish to share with us? Do you want us to cover your event or programme? Kindly send SMS to 08059100286, 09094171980. Thank you