The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, says he is not bothered about the swearing-in of President-elect Bola Tinubu scheduled for May 29.
Atiku, who contested against Tinubu in the February 25 presidential election, said this through his lead counsel, Chief Chris Uche SAN, shortly after the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) sitting in Abuja consolidated his petition with the ones that were filed by candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM).
According to Atiku, Tinubu’s inauguration has no bearing on the outcome of the petitions seeking to nullify his election victory.
He expressed confidence that his mandate would be retrieved before the court.
“I have been asked about May 29, I want to assure people that swearing in is only a ceremony that does not in any way tie the hands of the court.
“The taking of oath binds the person who takes the oath and not the court
“The court has given you its timelines for parties to present their case. We are happy that with the development, the petitions will be expeditiously determined,” Atiku’s counsel said.
Recall that a five-member panel of the PEPC led by Justice Haruna Tsammani merged the petitions challenging election outcome at a pre-hearing on Tuesday, amid objections by lawyers to the president-elect and the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The court ruled that the petitions would be consolidated and heard side by side given the time constraint to hear and determine the petition.
Hearing on the three merged petitions will commence on May 30, a day after Tinubu’s inauguration.