Atiku, Obi Raise Alarm, Accuse INEC Of Access Denial To Electoral Materials
BY SEGUN ADEBAYO – About a week after the Court of Appeal granted their prayers on the 2023 presidential election, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP) have raised an alarm accusing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on continuous denial of access to inspect materials used for the February 25 poll
In demanding that INEC comply with the Appellate Court orders granting them access to materials, the PDP Legal Team led by Joe-Kyari Gadzama (SAN) on Friday complained that the electoral umpire has refused to do the needful since the March 3 and 8 rulings of the Election Tribunal.
Gadzama said in a letter addressed to the INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, that the PDP legal team led by Adedamola Fanokun Esq, has been visiting the Commission since the first order was granted, and on each occasion, were given cold shoulders by the officials because “there was no instruction yet from the Commission”.
In the same vein, the National Chairman of Labour Party (LP), Comrade Julius Abure, complained about INCE’s failure to grant the party’s experts and lawyers access to the election materials and to scan or make photocopies of voters registration, ballot papers used, including to conduct a digital forensic inspection of BVAS machines used for the February 25 election.
In a Twitter post on Friday, Comrade Abure said; “I want to say that since that order was made that we should be given the opportunity to inspect election materials, INEC has not allowed us access.
“We have been going there; our lawyers and technical experts have been going there daily.”
Insiders in the two parties have therefore urged the Commission to obey the Appellate Court orders as not to truncate the ongoing judicial process meant to give Nigerians justice over the complaints and allegations trailing the presidential election in which it declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the President-elect.
Justice Joseph Ikyegh of the Court of Appeal panel had issued “an order allowing the PDP to carry out a forensic examination/analysis of the ballot papers, data form, BVAS/and or card readers, including copying and photocopying of the ballot papers, information stored in the computer server/IREV/backends/clouds and card readers and thumbprint analysis and to present and/or demonstrate by visual, electronic or documentary or any other means, the result of the forensic examination/analysis at the court as part of the proceedings.”
