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The Labour Party's (LP) Mr. Peter Gregory Obi has been instructed by the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) to file a joint petition challenging the results of the presidential election on February 25 within three weeks.
The petition's target, President-elect Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, was also ordered by the court to appear in court with the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, within five days to defend his election victory.
Obi had asked for seven weeks to prove his claims on the contested election that gave rise to Tinubu through the counsel of Professor Awa Kalu SAN.
During the presentation of the court's pre-hearing sessions report on Tuesday, Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani, the court's chairman, issued the order.
Justice Tsammani mandated, among other things, that Obi's petition be opened for hearing on May 30 and closed on June 23.
The Court claimed that the short window of time in which the petition must be resolved led to its judgment.
Obi, who was present to observe the proceedings, requested permission from the court to leave as soon as the order of the Court was announced, explaining that they would be getting ready for the full-blown hearing of the case.
To facilitate a quick hearing, the Court has in the meanwhile ordered the aggregation of the applications.
The Court dismissed Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) fierce opposition to the consolidation.
