Polls: PDP, Atiku withdraw Fresh Application against INEC

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its candidate Atiku Abubakar withdrew their application to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to allow their agents to participate in sorting out ballot papers that were used for the presidential election held on February 25.

PDP and Atiku are challenging the electoral umpire’s declaration of the candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Tinubu, told the Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC, sitting at the Court of Appeal in Abuja, that they were no longer interested in the application.

Atiku, through his team of lawyers led by Mr. Joe Kyari Gadzama, SAN, told the court that he filed a notice of discontinuance the Vanguard learnt

“We filed the application owing to challenges and administrative bottlenecks we encountered at the INEC office when we went for access to the election materials as ordered by the court.

“However, before the application dated March 13 could be slated for hearing, INEC, on its own, called our legal team for a meeting.

“It was at that meeting which was held yesterday (Tuesday) that all the grey areas were sorted out, with INEC, pledging to allow our agents to observe the process of sorting out some of the electoral materials we requested for, especially the ballot papers.

“Since that was primarily our prayer in the fresh application we filed, we felt that it would not be necessary to proceed with the hearing. So, to save judicial time, we filed a notice of discontinuance which was accordingly granted” a member of Atiku’s legal team said.

Justice Joseph Ikyegh-led three-member panel struck the case following the withdrawal of the application.