Supreme Court may halt Buhari’s inauguration on Wednesday

There are danger signals that the Supreme Court may suspend the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday, May 29, 2019, for a second tenure. This, however, may create constitutional crisis in the country since the current tenure of the President ends midnight of Tuesday, May 28, 2019. While Nigerians are expected to have a seeming vacuum of about eight hours before the inauguration of President Buhari on Wednesday for a second tenure, the danger of suspending the formal inauguration is increasing.

National Daily learned, however, that the dangerous threat to the inauguration of the president is coming from Hope Democratic Party (HDP), minor political party in the February 23 Presidential election, which approached the Supreme Court to stop the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja on Wednesday, May 29.

Hope Democratic Party (HDP) is contesting that the Supreme Court should restrain President Buhari, who was winner of the 2019 presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), from presenting himself for swearing in on Wednesday pending the final determination of petitions challenging the validity of his election.

Hope Democratic Party (HDP) in a notice of appeal filed before the Supreme Court protested the striking out of its motion on notice by the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal on May 22, for lacking in merit.

National Daily further learned that the pleaded for an order of the Supreme Court directing the Senate President or the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) to take over the office of the President pending the time all issues arising from the last presidential election would be fully resolved.

Hope Democratic Party (HDP) also prayed for another order setting aside the ruling of Justice, Joseph Ikyegh which refused to stop the inauguration of Buhari, arguing that the tribunal erred in law in striking out its motion without giving cognizance to relevant law cited.

Hope Democratic Party (HDP) had argued that the tribunal failed to apply the extant provision of section 25 of the Electoral Act 2010 mandatory suspending and returns of the questions election of February 23,  2019, presidential election until the validity of the said election is determined by the tribunal.