Waiting for Judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal
Alex Enumah writes that all eyes are on the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal as it delivers Judgment this week
Following the declaration of Buhari as winner of the February 23 presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission , Atiku and his party, approached the court to challenge the victory. Equally, the petitioners asked the tribunal to nullify Buhari’s participation in the election on grounds that he did not possess the necessary academic qualification for the office of President and that President Buhari submitted false information to the Independent National Electoral Commission to aid his qualification for the said election.
He listed www.factsdontlie.com, whoistool as some of the website he said, though does not belong to INEC, but the information therein were uploaded by an INEC official who is anonymous. He insisted that results were transmitted into INEC server and that INEC chairman, Prof Mahmoud Yakubu confirmed the existence of a central server in a conversation with the national agents.
Current Chief of Staff to President Buhari, Alhaji Abba Kyari, who claimed to have known Buhari for nearly 40 years, told the tribunal that Buhari has credit in five subjects including English Language in his West African School Certificate examination conducted by Cambridge University. Further cross examined by Atiku’s counsel, Kyari admitted that the Diploma Certificate in Strategic Studies he claimed Buhari possessed in his witness statement was not listed in Buhari’s CV.
Adewunmi confirmed that Buhari was educated up to Secondary School level and was awarded Aggregate 32 and Grade 2 for his performance. However, in their final address, Atiku and PDP, argued that the respondents instead of defending the claim by the petitioners that Buhari failed to provide proof of any of the three certificates he claimed to possess, dwelled on the issue of whether the President can speak the English language or not.
“More worrisome is the fact that Buhari’s own witness Major General Paul Tafa, who joined the Nigerian Army with him in 1962 told the tribunal that they were never asked to submit their certificates to the Nigerian Army Board as claimed by Buhari in his form CF001.” However, INEC represented by Yunus Usman SAN, urged the tribunal to dismiss the petition with substantial cost because the electoral body conducted the election in total compliance with the Nigerian constitution and Electoral Act 2010.
He averred that there was nothing in law to persuade the tribunal to nullify the February 23 presidential election as pleaded by Atiku and urged the tribunal to dismiss the petition with substantial cost. However the Tribunal Chairman after taking submissions from all parties announced that judgment in the petition has been reserved and that the date for its delivery would be communicated to parties.
“In the face of the anguish, pains, calamitous events, bloodletting, strong division, resentment, insecurity, acute hunger and starvation crippling our country, Nigerians’ only hope is now in the judiciary to save our nation by addressing the substance of the petition by Atiku and the PDP” “The determination of the petition will certainly impact on future elections and constitutionalism in the country”, he said.
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