Tribunal Orders PDM To Serve Its Petition On Buhari Through APC

The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM), Mr Aminchi Habu has been enjoined to serve his petition on President Muhammadu Buhari through the proper channel, the All Progressives Congress, (APC).

The Presidential Election Tribunal made this ruling on Saturday.

Habu is challenging the declaration of Buhari as the winner of the Feb. 23 presidential on the grounds that the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) excluded the name of his party from the ballot paper.

Justice Abdul Aboki, who headed the three-man panel of justices of the Court of Appeal of the Tribunal made the order allowing substituted service in a ruling on an exparte application brought by the petitioners.

Counsel to the petitioners, Mr Aliyu Lemu said the exparte application arose due to his inability to effect personal service of the petition and other processes on the president because of security
and protocol surrounding his office.

The petition has the president, INEC and the APC as respondents. Habu and his party want he tribunal to, among other prayers, declare the victory of Buhari and the APC at the Feb. 23 presidential election null and void.

He said this was based on the grounds that the name of his party and logo were unlawfully omitted from the ballot papers by INEC thereby denying him the opportunity of contesting in the election.

He claimed that he and his party had spent a lot of money on campaigns and they felt cheated by INEC. He prayed the court to declare that he was val- idly nominated by his party but unlawfully excluded by INEC from the election into the office of president.

In his statement on oath, Habu said that he purchased the presidential form of PDM at the rate of N5 million after which he visited the 36 states of the federation to seek the support of party members.