Suit against Yar'Adua delayed
31/07/2007 09:34  - (SA)  

Yar'Adua releases $87m Nigerian MPs 'no to bribes'

Abuja - A Nigerian electoral tribunal on Monday delayed by two weeks a hearing on an opposition challenge to President Umaru Yar'Adua's landslide election victory.

Independent observers reported widespread vote-rigging and European Union monitors said the April polls were "not credible" and fell "far below basic international standards".

The Court of Appeal, which also served as the presidential election tribunal, was due to hear the preliminary arguments on Monday.

But tribunal chairperson Judge James Ogebe delayed the hearing to August 13 because he said the plaintiff, Muhammadu Buhari, had served the court papers on the wrong person.

April vote 'historic'

Buhari, the candidate of the All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP), served the papers on the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) instead of on the president himself. The chairperson told Buhari to serve them on Yar'Adua's counsel.

Buhari's petition and another one by the candidate of a second opposition party, former vice-president Atiku Abubakar, had been bogged down by legal technicalities since they were filed at the tribunal in May.

The April vote was billed as historic because it was the first time one elected president handed over to another in Africa's most populous country and top oil producer.

But, the polls were so badly rigged that the main domestic monitoring group called them a "charade". Yar'Adua had acknowledged the polls were flawed and had promised reforms to conduct a free, fair and credible vote in 2011.

Buhari 'parted ways ANPP'

Official results gave Yar'Adua 24.6 million votes compared to 6.6 million for Buhari and 2.6 million for Abubakar, who was the candidate of the Action Congress party.

The tribunal also adjourned to August 20 the hearing of a petition brought by the ANPP, which was seeking to consolidate its case against Yar'Adua with Buhari's petition.

Buhari parted ways with the ANPP in June after the party agreed to join Yar'Adua's government.

The former military strongman had accused the party leadership of betraying him by joining the government after he was still in court challenging the outcome of the elections.

Abubakar's party was also invited to join the cabinet, but it declined, saying it did not recognise Yar'Adua as the legitimate president.

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