The Presidential Election Petitions Court (PEPC) in Abuja has refuted reports that it has set a judgment date for the petitions filed by Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), challenging President Bola Tinubu’s victory.
This is coming after a verified Twitter user by the name Serah Ibrahim on Monday tweeted that the PEPC “has set September 16 2023 as the judgment date for the Peter Obi and Labour party’s case against Bole Tinubu, INEC, Shettima and APC.”
The tweet was viral with more than 2,083 reposts as of the time of this report.
Reacting to the development, the Secretary of the PEPC panel, Barrister Josephine J. Ekperobe, dismissed the viral post.
The official replied to the Whistler’s inquiry as “No date yet.”
It would be recalled that after adopting the final written addresses of the parties involved in the suit, the five-man tribunal headed by Justice Haruna Simon Tsamani reserved judgment and said a date to deliver the verdict would be communicated to concerned parties and their lawyers.
Multiple sources claimed on Monday that the tribunal has now allegedly picked September 16 as the judgment date.
The reported date is the final day available for the tribunal to deliver its judgment on the three petitions instituted by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Labour Party (LP) and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) together with their presidential candidates, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Mr. Peter Obi, and Princess Chichi Ojei respectively.
The defendants in the cases are Tinubu, the APC, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The tribunal is yet to make an official statement on the date to deliver its ruling.
