Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was present at Thursday’s hearing of petitions and applications at the election tribunal in Abuja.

Also in court were ex-Governors Boni Haruna, Babangida Aliyu, Liyel Imoke and Jubrilla Bindow, as well as former PDP national chairman Uche Secondus and DAAR Communications boss Raymond Dokpesi.

The tribunal will hear Mr Abubakar and the PDP’s motions seeking live transmission of court proceedings and petitions challenging the outcome of the February 25 presidential election.

In today’s proceedings, the court is also expected to hear Mr Abubakar’s application, pushing for a live broadcast of the day-to-day proceedings relating to his petition.

Mr Abubakar and the PDP are specifically asking the court for an order directing the court’s registry and the parties on modalities for admission of media practitioners and their equipment into the courtroom.

The application filed on their behalf by their team of lawyers led by Chris Uche is predicated on the matter before the court per the outcome of the presidential poll.

According to the petitioner, the matter is of national concern and public interest, involving citizens and voters in the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory who participated in the election.

They also said the matter is critical because the international community is interested in Nigeria’s electoral process.

According to Mr Abubakar, being a unique electoral dispute with a peculiar constitutional dimension, it is a matter of public interest whereof millions of Nigerians and voters are stakeholders with a constitutional right to receive.

(NAN)