The Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal on Tuesday gave an indication that it would consider the prayer of the Peoples Democratic Party and the Labour Party’s demand for a live broadcast of its proceedings.
The tribunal presided over by Justice Haruna Tsammani asked the parties in the ongoing petitions to settle and decide on their objections, including the motion on notice filed by the PDP and its standard bearer, Atiku Abubakar requesting for the live broadcast of the presidential tribunal proceeding which began on Monday.
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Tsammani gave the directive during Tuesday’s hearing when the matter was raised by counsel for the PDP and Atiku, Chris Uche, SAN.
Speaking at the resumed pre-hearing session, the head of the five-man panel assured that the application for a live broadcast of the proceedings “will be considered together with the other issues.”
The PDP and Atiku, in an application dated May 5, argued that televising the court sitting would enhance transparency and boost citizens’ confidence in the judicial process.
However,the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has replied to former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar over his request to have the proceedings of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja to be aired live.
Responding to Atiku’s request through his lead counsel, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), Tinubu, while confirming receipt of the application, said he would need time to make his position on the request known.
“My Lords, my immediate response is that he will hear from us within the time allowed by the rules,” Tinubu told the court through his lawyers.
Likewise, counsel representing APC, Chief Akin Olujinmi (SAN), acknowledged that the petitioners served him on Monday.
He said: “We are taking steps to respond appropriately to the application within the time permitted by the rules of this court.”
Earlier, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) also confirmed that it was served with the application.
The Justice Tsanammi-led five-member panel adjourned further pre-hearing proceedings on Atiku’s petition till Thursday to enable the APC candidate to respond to the application seeking an order to allow live coverage of day-to-day proceedings on petitions seeking to nullify his election.
It ordered all the parties to sort out all the documents they would either concede to or object to, as well as key issues to be considered with respect to the petition.
The court held that it would hear the application for live coverage of its proceedings once all the respondents filed their responses.