The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for president in the February 23 presidential election, Atiku Abubakar, is expected to call his witnesses on Monday at the presidential election petition tribunal, after tendering documentary evidence in 10 states in support of his petition against the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Atiku and his political platform have lined up 400 witnesses to be called in the 10 days allowed by the Tribunal.

Atiku, whose substantive petition hearing commenced, last Thursday, has so far tendered a total of 31,371 documents, comprising election result sheets from wards, polling units and local government areas in 10 states of the Federation.

The states are Niger, Yobe, Katsina, Kebbi, Borno, Jigawa, Gombe, Bauchi, Kaduna and parts of Kano.

Atiku’s lead counsel, Dr. Livy Uzoukwu, who tendered the documents, which also included receipts issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in respect of the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the results sheets, told the Tribunal that the remaining results from Kano State would be tendered Monday.

He further informed the Tribunal of his client’s intention to call witnesses on Monday to support his case against the President’s electoral victory.

While a total of 5,196 result sheets were tendered by Atiku last Thursday from Niger and Yobe states, the petitioner tendered a further 26, 175 result sheets on Friday from 10 states, bringing the total number of documentary evidence to 31, 371.

The breakdown of the documents from eight states indicate: 3378 from Katsina, 2,106 from Kebbi; 3,472 from Borno; 3,162 from Jigawa; 1,912 from Gombe; 3,539 from Bauchi; 3,335 from Kaduna; and 5,271 from Kano.

As agreed upon, counsel to INEC, Yunus Ustaz Usman, that of Buhari, Mike Igbokwe, and that of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Charles Edosomwan, objected to the admissibility of the documents, informing the Tribunal that reasons for their objections would be made at the address stage of hearings. (The Sun)

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