Allied Peoples Movement (APM) has told the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) that it will need only one day to open and close its case challenging the victory of President Bola Tinubu in the 25 presidential polls.

The party says it has only one witness, who will testify and be cross-examined in just one day.

Addressing the five-member panel of the court Monday, Gideon Idiagbonya, lawyer to the party, said: “My lords, we intended to open our case today but in the cause of having a pre-trial conference with our sole witness, but we realised that certain documents we intend to tender are not in the file handed over to us by the previous counsel.

“In view of this, we ask for another date to enable us to open and close our case in one day since we have just one witness.”

The party’s petition is anchored solely on the alleged wrongful nomination of Vice-President Kashim Shettima as President Tinubu’s running mate in the 25 February presidential election.

APM argues that Tinubu was not properly sponsored for the election by his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), by nominating Shettima as his vice-presidential candidate without withdrawing his candidature as a senatorial candidate.

But while the hearing on the petition was underway at the presidential election court, the Supreme Court, last month, dismissed a suit in which the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) raised the same issue against Messrs Tinubu and Shettima.

The Supreme Court delivered a judgement on the matter on 26 May, to which Tinubu’s lawyer, Wole Olanipekun, drew the attention of the court.

APM’s lawyer had then sought to obtain a copy of the judgment to guide its decision on whether to terminate or continue with its petition.

Giving an update on the matter on Monday, APM’s lawyer, Idiagbonya, said his client had reviewed the Supreme Court judgment of the Supreme Court and was of the opinion that his client could still proceed with the petition.

But Tinubu’s lawyer, Olanipekun, insisted that the Supreme Court’s judgement had settled the issues raised by the petitioner.

Adjournment

Olanipekun, however, did not oppose the application for an adjournment.

Similarly, counsel for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Abubakar Mahmoud, a SAN, and that of the APC, Charles Edosanwan, as well as G.M Isho, lawyer representing the 5th respondent, Kabiru Masari, did not oppose the application for an adjournment.

The court adjourned hearing in the petition until 21 June to open and close its case as counsel had told the court.

NAN