The Hope Democratic Party, HDP, has appealed to the Presidential Election Tribunal to restrain President Muhammadu Buhari from his inauguration on May 29.
HDP made the appeal in a motion filed before the tribunal which is also seeking an order restraining the Chief Justice of Nigeria from swearing-in, administering the oath of office and oath of allegiance to the president on May 29th, 2019.
In a motion on notice made available to journalists on Tuesday, the party filed the motion on 6 grounds pursuant to section 1 subsection 2 of the 1999 constitution as amended and under the jurisdiction of the tribunal.
The party stated that there was a pending petition challenging the election and return of President Buhari as the winner of the February 23rd presidential election.
HDP said the petition has been served on President Buhari and pleadings have been exchanged.
It claimed that despite that the matter is still pending, Buhari has been making frantic preparation for his inauguration on May 29, 2019.
HDP stated that unless President Buhari was restrained from presenting himself for inauguration, he will foil ”a fiat accompli and state of hopelessness on the court and render their petition nugatory.”
It insisted that the law says that once a question of the validity of an election of any person is challenged, that person is not competent to take an oath of office or assume the seat of power.
