The Presidential Election Tribunal has on Wednesday, September 11, 2019, given former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, victory in a ruling on a motion filed by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
In the motion, INEC had sought the dismissal of Atiku and PDP’s petitions because they failed to join the Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, in their petitions against President Buhari and the electoral umpire.
The motion was filed on May 5, 2019.
However, the chairman of the tribunal, Justice Garba Mohammed, reading the verdict said the vice president would have been superfluous in the petition.
The court held that the vice president is not a necessary party in an election petition, saying as an appendage to the candidate, he rises and falls with the candidate
INEC in its motion had argued: that the vice president is an indispensable party to the petition and that his fair hearing would be breached should a decision be reached without his input.
That Section 137 (2) of the Electoral Act makes Mr Osinbajo a vital part of the petition.
That if the section above is to be followed the petition would be invalidated.
