FCT: Don’t Tamper with Our Victory, Labour Party  Cautions INEC

Emameh Gabriel in Abuja

The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last presidential election, Atiku Abubakar, has withdrawn his application seeking to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to allow PDP agents participate in the process of sorting out materials (ballot papers) used in the conduct of the February 25 presidential election.

Atiku and the PDP in a Notice of Discontinuance told the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC), sitting at the Court of Appeal in Abuja, that they were no longer interested in the application.

The lead counsel to Atiku and PDP, Mr Joe Gadzama (SAN), stated this on Wednesday, when the motion ex-parte, marked CA/PEC/10M/2023 was called up for hearing.

Besides the motion to compel INEC allow their agents participate in the sorting out of election materials, Atiku and PDP had also filed a motion exparte praying for an order to serve court documents on the All Progressives Congress (APC) and winner of the presidential election, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, by substituted means, namely by serving the papers on their staff or posting same on their premises. 

The PEPC had on March 3 permitted Atiku and the PDP, as well as his counterpart from the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, to inspect election materials used in the February 25 presidential election.

However, owing to alleged administrative bottlenecks encountered at the INEC office in carrying out the order of inspection of the election materials, Atiku and PDP had filed a fresh application at the PEPC.

But before the application dated March 13 could be slated for hearing, it was learnt that INEC invited the legal team of the applicants for a meeting.

“It was at that meeting which held yesterday (Tuesday) that all the grey areas were sorted out, with INEC, pledging to allow our agents to observe the process of sorting out some of the electoral materials we requested for, especially the ballot papers.

“Since that was primarily our prayer in the fresh application we filed, we felt that it would not be necessary to proceed with the hearing. So, to save judicial time, we filed a notice of discontinuance which was accordingly granted,” said a member of Atiku’s legal team, who did not want his name mentioned because he was not authorized to speak on the matter.

Subsequently, Justice Joseph Ikyegh who led a three-member panel struck it out the applications.

The motion, predicated on 11 grounds, claimed that it was necessary for agents of the applicants to be present during the sorting out of the electoral materials needed for the preparation of their intended petition against the outcome of the presidential election at the PEPC.

It was further argued that there was need for the applicants’ agents to observe/participate in the sorting of materials requested for in all the offices of INEC nationwide, in line with the ex-parte order the court made on March 3.

Delivering ruling in the exparte, Justice Ikyegh had on March 3, granted permission for Atiku and Obi to inspect “all the electoral materials used in the conduct of the election for the office of the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria held on February 25, 2023”.

The court also permitted them to do electronic scanning and/or make photocopies of voter’s registration and ballot papers used in the presidential election.

In addition, both Atiku and Obi are by the order permitted to “carry out digital forensic inspection of BVAS machines used for the conduct of the February 25” presidential election.

INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, had on March 1, at the end of collation of results from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) declared Tinubu as the winner of the presidential election, having scored the highest number of votes cast in the election.

Tinubu polled over eight million votes to emerge victorious, while Atiku came second with nearly seven million votes and Obi third, with a little above six million.

Similarly, both Tinubu and Atiku won 12 states each, while Obi won 11 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Dissatisfied with the declaration of Tinubu as winner of the presidential election, both Atiku and Obi vowed to ventilate their grievances at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, which is the court saddled with the responsibility of hearing and determining cases surrounding the conduct of presidential election.

While they are yet to file their respective petitions, Atiku and Obi in separate motion exparte sought for an order of court permitting them to inspect the materials used for the February 25 presidential election.