The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal has struck out the ex-parte motion filed by Hope Democratic Party to serve President Muhammadu Buhari, by pasting the petition at the Aso Villa Presidential office.
The HDP and its presidential candidate, Mr Ambrose Owuru are challenging the legality of the election earlier slated for February 16 but later shifted to February 23
The three-man panel led by Justice Abdul Aboki, struck out the case, following an application filed by HDP counsel, Mr Yusuf Ibrahim.
Ibrahim informed the tribunal that the petitioner was withdrawing the motion ex-parte.
He also informed the tribunal that the petitioner will file the motion ex-parte whenever it wants to.
The tribunal fixed Thursday for hearing of the ex-parte motion filed by Ibrahim, seeking an order of the court to serve President Buhari by pasting the petition at the Aso Villa Presidential office, the National Secretariat of the APC and the tribunal’s notice board.
The ex-parte motion followed an affidavit of non-service deposed to by one Abubakar Mohammed, Chief Bailiff of the Court of Appeal.
The bailiff claimed that security personnel at Aso Villa denied him access to enter and effect service on President Buhari on the grounds that there was no directive from the president’s office to that effect.
The petitioner, who claimed to have been excluded from participating in the Feb. 23 poll, averred that the election was invalid by reason of non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2010 which stipulated the conditions under which an election can be lawfully postponed.
Their major contention is that they were validly nominated for the 2019 general election, but were unlawfully excluded from the elections by INEC, who allegedly delisted their names and party logo from the ballot papers.
