Only Presidential Results Not Uploaded – INEC Presiding Officers Tell Court

The Presidential Election Court (PEPC), was on Monday told by three presiding officers of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), that the refusal of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) to transmit the presidential election results on election day frustrated their jobs.

The three officers however said that the results of the Senate and House of Representatives elections which took place simultaneously were transmitted unhindered, saying that the problems of technical hitches arose at the point of transmitting only the presidential poll results.

The officers namely, Janet Nuhu Turaki, Christopher Bulus Ardo and Victoria Sani that served as INEC’S Presiding Officers in Yobe, Bauchi and Katsina States were made to testify upon a subpoena at the hearing of petitions challenging the outcome of the February 25, 2023 presidential election, also admitted that the election process went well until the period the BVAS machines refused to function.

The three INEC officers were summoned by the Court through the joint application of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Abubakar Atiku to appear before it and give accounts of their experiences in relation to results transmission during the last presidential election.

First to testify was Janet Turaki, who pointedly said that the accreditation of voters went on smoothly and successful but, the process became frustrating at the point of uploading of the election results.

Turaki, who testified in the petition filed by the Presidential candidate of the PDP former Vice President Abubakar Atiku, further said that while results of the National Assembly election sailed smoothly, that of the presidential poll failed and refused to work throughout the day.

She also told the Court that the collated results in the forms EC8A were signed by the party agents and herself in her capacity as INEC’S Presiding Officer.

In his own evidence before the Court, Christopher Bulus Ardo said that he felt unfulfilled in his assignment with INEC on the election since he was unable to transmit the presidential election results as required by law.

Curiously, Victoria Sani told the Court that she could not remember the candidate that won the presidential poll in Katsina state, adding however that all did not end well due to her inability to transmit the presidential aspect of the February 25, 2023 election.

The proceedings on Monday were conducted by Eyitayo Jegede, SAN for Abubakar Atiku and PDP as petitioners while Abubakar Mahmoud, SAN stood for INEC just as Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN was for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Charles Edosomwen SAN, represented the All Progressives Congress APC.

In the meantime, the Presiding Justice of the Court, Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani has fixed June 20, 2023 for continuation of hearing of the petition.