Abuja — The Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal yesterday struck out the motion brought at the instance of the presidential candidate of All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Major General Muhammadu Buhari, seeking to nullify the election of President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua faced multiple motions against his election at the tribunal.

Some of the motions confronting the legitimacy of President Yar'Adua included the ones by ANPP, Arthur Nwankwo of the Peoples Mandate Party (PMP) and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) filed by Dim Odimegwu Ojukwu. Ojukwu's petition will now be heard on August 23.

At yesterday's sitting, General Buhari had, through his counsel, Mike Ahamba (SAN) applied to withdraw the motion seeking to nullify the entire election.

He said he decided to withdraw the motion because of recent developments especially whereby motions were being proliferated.

Presiding judge, Justice James Shobe, who said that the tribunal takes precedence over any other suit with the Supreme Court on vacation, consequently struck out the motion. He, however, advised lawyers to fast-track pre-hearing processes.

The motion had requested the tribunal to enter judgment against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and all its officials who were sued over the presidential election.

Buhari had hinged the motion on the alleged failure of the INEC and its officials to file replies to the main petition.

Chief Ahamba also vehemently opposed the application by the police for the extension of time within which to file statement of defence, saying it was out of time for the police to come into the matter as the motion was out to frustrate the petition.

He said that he filed an affidavit in opposition of the motion as soon as it was served on him.

He told the court that he had served the process of the court on former president Olusegun Obasanjo, adding that up till yesterday Obasanjo had not protested the mode of service.

On the petition filed by Arthur Nwankwo against the election of President Yar'Adua, counsel to the respondent, Yusuff Ali (SAN) said he was not served with the copy of the petition.

But counsel to the petitioner, E. Edecheme said that he actually served Izinyon in court at the last sitting on Friday.

Edecheme said that he was to effect the service on Wole Olanipekun (SAN) but there was a directive from the senior counsel to receive the process. "(Last) Friday, Izinyon endorsed the copy. As a matter of fact I gave a copy to Kanu Agabi when he requested for one," he said.

Ali insisted that he did not get any service and that when a copy allegedly endorsed by Izinyon was given to him, he quickly spotted an error to the effect that the same process was endorsed on August 19, which is a future date.

He said that the said Friday Izinyon signed the document was very strange to the legal team of Yar'Adua.

He informed the court of a pending motion asking the court to decline jurisdiction and said that he was ready to move the motion.

Hearing in some the motions continue today while some had been adjourned till next week.

President Yar'Adua was declared winner of the April 21 presidential poll by INEC, a situation that caused the petitioners to approach the tribunal to correct what they called a fraudulent exercise.

According to the result declared by INEC, Yar'Adua polled 24,638,063 to beat others including Buhari and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

Initially, Buhari said he would not waste time litigating on the election, as a similar effort to upturn Obasanjo's election in 2003 did not produce any result.

But his party, the ANPP insisted that he must join it in the petition. But not long after, Buhari and the ANPP split their petitions at the tribunal.

Also yesterday, tribunal fixed August 23 for hearing in the petition of APGA Presidential candidate, Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu.

In the petition, Ojukwu is asking the tribunal to nullify the April 21 Presidential polls on the grounds that it was not conducted in compliance with the 1999 Constitution.

He also alleged that the declared winners of the polls, President Yar'Adua and his Vice, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, were not qualified to contest, having failed to resign their offices as governors of Katsina and Bayelsa, respectively.

The tribunal, presided over by Justice James Ogebe, specifically fixed Aug. 23, for hearing of two motions, both seeking a dismissal of the petition. The motions were respectively filed by Mr Yusuf Ali (SAN) counsel to Yar'Adua and Jonathan, and counsel to INEC, Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN).

In the motion, they contended that the petition was defective and in clear breach of express provisions of the Electoral Act 2006.

They also said that the petition was not properly constituted on

the ground that the institutions necessary for its just determination were not made parties.

In another development, hearing in the petition of PMP against the election of Yar'Adua and Jonathan was stalled because of problem of service.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that when the petition was mentioned before the tribunal today, Ali said that his clients had not been served with the petition.

INEC, represented by Agabi, and PDP, represented by Gadzama, however, said that they had been served by the petitioners.

The tribunal directed a proper service of the petition on Yar'Adua and Jonathan through their lawyer and adjourned till Aug. 22, for further mention.

The petition was filed by PMP, its presidential candidate, Dr. Arthur Nwankwo and running mate, Alhaji Muhammad Abdullahi.

The petitioners alleged that the April 21 presidential poll was vitiated by non-compliance with mandatory statutory requirements and massive rigging. Consequently, they said, none of the candidates was entitled to be returned.