Presidential Election Petition Court Adjourns Petition Against President-Elect, Disputes Arise Within Labour Party

Petition against President-elect adjourned to May 19: The Presidential Election Petition Court has postponed the petition filed by the Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, against President-elect Bola Tinubu. The adjournment, announced by Justice Haruna Tsammani, was due to disagreements among the parties regarding documents and other matters. The court will resume proceedings on Friday, May 19, 2023.

Labour Party alleges INEC’s failure to provide essential documents: During the proceedings, Livy Uzoukwu, SAN, representing the Labour Party and Peter Obi, informed the court that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had not provided approximately 70% of the necessary documents relevant to the pleadings. Specifically, access to documents related to Sokoto and Rivers states, particularly the EC8A form, was reportedly denied. Efforts to hold a meeting between the parties were hindered by INEC’s uncooperative stance.

Dispute over party representation in court: The Presidential Election Petition Court refused to recognize any representative from the Labour Party other than Peter Obi, the 1st Petitioner, who was physically present. The court made this decision based on information suggesting a disagreement between two factions of the party. Factions aligned with Lamidi Apapa and Julius Abure were engaged in a heated argument outside the court premises, highlighting the ongoing leadership crisis within the Labour Party.