Presidential Election Tribunal: Party Wants Petition Against Buhari Withdrawn

A faction of the Hope Democratic Party (HDP) has asked the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal to withdraw the petition filed by the party challenging President Muhammadu Buhari’s re-election.

Naija News reports that the presidential candidate of the HDP, Ambrose Owuru, who polled 1,663 votes in the election, had filed the petition with his party challenging the declaration of Buhari as the winner.

Owuru alongside HDP urged the tribunal to nullify Buhari’s re-election.

At the resumed sitting on Thursday, the tribunal led by Justice Mohammed Garba disclosed that it received two fresh application by a faction of the HDP asking for a withdrawal of its petition filed against the president.

The HDP faction maintained that the party never authorised anyone to lodge the petition.

The faction also urged the tribunal to allow it to change the counsel its presidential candidate, Owuru, engaged on its behalf.

Reacting, the counsel to the Owuru-led faction of the party, Oliver Eya, prayed the tribunal to grant him an adjournment to enable him to respond to the applications.

His request was accordingly granted by the panel, even as the applications were adjourned till June 25 for hearing.