Tribunal orders Atiku to apply for withdrawal against Bulkachuwa

Presidential Election Petition Tribunal Wednesday ordered candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, to file an application requesting Court of Appeal President, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, to withdraw as member of the tribunal.

The directives was given to the opposition party following the meeting held with lawyers appearing in the case earlier.

Bulkachuwa who announced the tribunal’s decision, said she was asked to save herself by the legal team led by Livy Uzoukwu (SAN).

According to her, she received a letter from the PDP national chairman, Uche Secondus, requesting that she exempt herself from the petition hearing.

Abubakar’s Counsel, Livy Uzoukwu in response to the directives, said the file application would take effect from Thursday May 16, 2019.

Counsels representing President Muhammadu Buhari, Wole Olanipekun (SAN), Yunus Usman (SAN) and Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), reacting to the application said they would need time to respond.
The case was further adjourned till May 22, 2019

The PDP alleged that Bulkachuwa would likely be biased in judgement regarding the the petition they filed, because of her family ties with the ruling All Progressive Congress.

It was reported that the husband of the president, Adamu Bulkachuwa, contested and won the Bauchi North Senatorial District election on the platform of the APC during the February 23, 2019 election.

The party also complained that Bulkachuwa could have by a comment she made during the inaugural sitting of the tribunal on Wednesday, prejudged its petition challenging the outcome of the February 23, 2019, presidential election.

It stated that Bulkachuwa’s claim in her speech to the effect that there would always be complaints no matter how an election was well-conducted, has shattered their confidence in her.