The Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the just concluded presidential election, Atiku Abubakar and his party have filed applications at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) sitting at Appeal Court in Abuja for an order allowing live broadcast of the day to day proceedings regarding the petition.
Atiku and PDP are challenging the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission that declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu as the winner of the February 25 presidential polls.
They are specifically asking the tribunal for “An order Directing the Court’s Registry and the parties on modalities for admission of Media Practitioners and their Equipment into the courtroom.”
The application filed on their behalf by their team of lawyers led by Chris Uche is predicated on the ground that the case is a matter of national concern and public interest, involving citizens and voters in the 36 States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, who voted and participated in the said election; and the International Community as regards the workings of Nigeria’s Electoral Process”.
They contended that being a unique electoral dispute with a peculiar constitutional dimension, it is a matter of public interest whereof millions of Nigerian citizens and voters are stakeholders with a constitutional right to receive.
The applicants argued “With the huge and tremendous technological advances and developments in Nigeria and beyond, including the current trend by this Honourable Court towards embracing electronic procedures, virtual hearing and electronic filing, a departure from the Rules to allow a regulated televising of the proceedings in this matter is in consonance with the maxim that justice must not only be done, but must be seen to be done.
“Televising court proceedings is not alien to this Honourable Court, and will enhance public confidence”.
The leader of the Tinubu legal team, Wole Olanipekun in a preliminary objection asked the tribunal to dismiss the application for lack of merit.
