Tribunal's move to merge petitions rejected by Tinubu, APC

 

The Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC), Abuja, was today informed that the All Progressive Congress (APC) and its standard-bearer, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, have rejected the proposal to consolidate the three surviving petitions being heard at the PEPC.

It would be recalled that the outcome of the February 25 presidential election is being challenged at the PEPC.

During last Saturday's proceedings before the court, the Chairman of the panel, Justice Haruna Tsammani, referred counsels to the petition to consult paragraph 50 of the 1st Schedule of the Electoral Act on the idea of consolidating the three surviving petitions to determine them as one.

The judge directed lawyers to consult their clients and report back the outcome of the meeting.

During today's sitting on the matter, the lawyer for the APC, Charles Edosomwam, SAN, stated that consolidating the petitions would be against the interest of justice.

The SAN who argued that the justice factor is a major issue for consideration added, “The grounds are different and the wide range of issues raised by parties are also different.

“Major issues before this court will be lost like a pin in a haystack” if the consolidation is considered.

“Moreover, it will be pragmatically impossible for the respondent to effectively defend the case.

"It is our position that the issue of justice cannot be sacrificed at the altar of convenience”.

Similarly, the President-elect through his team of lawyers led by Akin Olujinmi, SAN, posited that consolidating all the petitions would strongly affect his ability to defend all the issues that were raised against him.

The SAN asserted that the petitioners are seeking different reliefs. According to Olujinmi, "The issue of justice should be a restraint on the power of this court to exercise its discretion in granting the order for consolidation.”

He argued that the provision of the Electoral Act, the court referred to, was not absolute.

The SAN said, "My lords, when the exercise of power is subject to the limitation of some conditions, then it cannot be said that the exercise is mandatory.

“There are issues raised in one petition that are not there in others. The issues vary. The same goes for evidential issues that are based on pleadings that have been exchanged by parties in this case.

"We want to make it clear at this stage that it will be absolutely difficult for us to consent to consolidation of the petitions”.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), however, said it would leave the issue of the consolidation to the court’s discretion.

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