Nigerians are bracing up for the reverberations as the Presidential Election Petition Court, sitting in the capital, Abuja, has scheduled Wednesday for judgements on the three cases challenging the outcome of the 25 February presidential election. The country’s Labour Union, the National Labour Congress (NLC) has also called a two-day warning strike the last day of which would coincide with the day of the judgements.
The decision of the court is coming about a month after all closing arguments of parties to the petitions were heard and about two weeks to the expiration of the statutory 180-day period within which the tribunal must conclude its functions..
The petitions were filed separately by Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peter Obi of the Labour Party, and a political party, the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), to challenge President Bola Tinubu’s victory in the disputed election.
The Court of Appeal headquarters in Abuja, which hosts the election petition court, announced the date for the judgements in a statement on Monday.
Although the NLC, says its two-day strike is to force the government to address the excruciating mass suffering and impoverishment being experienced due to the removal of subsidy, there are worries that it may have political undertones. Some observers fear there may be clandestine efforts by elements within the union to take advantage of the strike to incite rallies against an unfavourable judgement by the courts.
Although there has been no evidence of this happening, the NLC was openly partisan during the elections and had asked its members to vote for the Labour Party.
The government has taken steps to beef up security around Abuja to forestall any violent disruptions. Military checks points have been reinforced along entrances into the federal capital territory which has resulted in traffic gridlock.
