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INEC Challenges Atiku, Obi’s Suit on BVAS, Asks Court to Vary Orders
The Independent National Electoral Commission has asked the Presidential Election Petition Court to vary the orders that were granted to the candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party and Labour Party, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, respectively, to inspect materials used for the last presidential election.
INEC, in a motion on notice filed on March 4, is praying the court to vary the order which restrained it from tampering with materials used for the election.
The commission said it needed to reconfigure the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System for the next round of elections.
The appellate court had on March 3 granted leave to Atiku and Obi to inspect election materials used by INEC in the conduct of the February 25 presidential election.
A panel of the appellate court led by Justice Joseph Ikyegh granted the permission following two separate ex parte applications filed by Atiku and Obi, who came second and third respectively in the presidential election won by Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress.
In the application filed by the commission and sighted by NAN, the commission is asking the court to vary the order to allow it to reconfigure its 176,846 BVAS for the March 11 governorship and state houses of assembly elections.
NAN reports that it is the sole prayer in the application of the electoral umpire filed at the court.
No date has however been fixed for hearing of the application.
According to a source, considering the number of BVAS required to conduct the election across the states, INEC needs to reconfigure the BVAS used for the February 25 elections and deploy them to polling units for the March 11 elections.
The source said that the technical team of the commission had to be deployed on time to start the reconfiguration of the devices, which had to be done one by one.
The official further said the order was pertinent as not getting it could result in the postponement of the Saturday governorship and state houses of assembly elections.
BVAS machines
The credible source explained that the application became necessary following the order restraining INEC from tampering with the information embedded in the BVAS machines until the due inspection was conducted and Certified True Copies of them were issued, noting that the commission would require sufficient time to reconfigure the BVAS needed to conduct the polls.
The INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of Voter Education and Publicity, Festus Okoye, could not be reached for a reaction on Monday as he did not respond to several calls and the text message sent to him on the issue.
Meanwhile, the PDP has said the ruling of the Court of Appeal granting its presidential candidate permission to inspect election materials had yet to be complied with by the electoral commission.
A member of the National Working Committee of the party disclosed this to The PUNCH on Monday.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the NWC member stated that part of the reason for the protest by the party chieftains on Monday was the refusal of the commission to obey the order of the appellate court.
“The legal team of the PDP has not commenced the process of inspecting the documents used for the election, not because it is not ready but because INEC has not granted the team access to the materials.
“It is too early to say that they have an ulterior motive but they can’t deny us of our right. They can only delay the process but they cannot stop the PDP.
“If in the next few days, they don’t grant us access to the documents, there is a provision of the law that will compel them to obey the pronouncement of the court,” he said.
When contacted, the Director of Strategic Communications, National Election Management Committee of the PDP Campaign Council, Dele Momodu, stated, ‘’Don’t you think INEC has abused that ruling? They may also have appealed the ruling and if that is the case, there is nothing we can do in the interim.’’
Meanwhile, the PDP has welcomed the application by INEC seeking leave of the court to reconfigure the BVAS.
The Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Ibrahim Abdullahi, described the development as “A second litmus test of the INEC’s commitment to credible polls.”
But the All Progressives Congress on Monday night asked INEC to educate Nigerians on why it needed to reconfigure the BVAS ahead of Saturday’s election.
APC seeks explanations
Speaking in an interview, the Chief Spokesman for the APC presidential campaign council, Festus Keyamo, disclosed that though INEC had been vested with the power to hold elections in the country, it still owed Nigerians an explanation on why the technological device should be reconfigured.
He said, “INEC has the statutory powers to do whatever it is they are doing. And if they have to work within those powers to ensure that the elections are free and fair, then there is no problem so long as they explain to the parties what they are doing to avoid giving room for suspicion.
‘’The need to reconfigure those systems is also not clear enough to me. I think INEC needs to explain to the public very well why it needs to do that in a psychological sense because this is about technology.
The Punch
Source: Reuters
Arise Television anchor, Rufai Oseni, has alleged that there may be attempts to prevent key opposition figures, including Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar, from appearing on the ballot for the 2027 general elections.
Oseni’s remark followed a Federal High Court judgment ordering the de-registration of some political parties.
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, on Monday, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord Party (AP), Action Peoples’ Party (APP), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), and Action Alliance Party (AAP) over alleged constitutional breaches.
The judgment arose from a lawsuit filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL), which argued that the affected parties failed to meet constitutional and statutory electoral performance requirements necessary for continued recognition as political parties.
Justice Lifu subsequently barred INEC from recognising the affected parties, accepting nominations from them or permitting them to participate in activities related to the 2027 general elections.
The ruling, if upheld, could affect the political ambitions of several politicians, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who is the ADC presidential flag-bearer, and Osun State governor Ademola Adeleke, who is seeking re-election on the platform of the Accord Party.
But speaking on Arise TV’s Morning Show on Tuesday, Oseni described the court ruling as a “test” of public reaction, warning that more actions could follow ahead of the next general election.
According to him, opposition parties such as the African Democratic Congress, ADC, and the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, should be cautious, claiming that efforts could be made to stop major figures from participating in the election.
Oseni argued that the judgment was part of a broader process aimed at shaping the political landscape ahead of 2027.
He maintained that the ruling came despite some of the affected parties having recorded electoral victories in recent elections.
He warned that Nigerians must remain vigilant to safeguard the country’s democracy, stressing the need for judicial reforms alongside efforts to tackle insecurity.
Oseni said: “NDC, ADC should be careful because there will be attempt, and this is me predicting now, to ensure that Obi, Atiku and other big contenders are not on the ballot.
“This that you saw yesterday is just a test. This is not the real place where the whole thing is going. This is me predicting now.
“You know before you have a show you test the microphone. They want to see the reactions of Nigerians. More is still coming.
“You can see how they carry a judgement when ADC won two House of Representatives seats in Kogi, one Kogi House of Assembly seat, APP one chairmanship seat in Jigawa, Zenith Labour party won several seats in Abia, but they still went ahead and issued judgement for deregistration after the Court of Appeal, a higher court, said it should stay on that.
“If we want to deal with this judicial rascality, can I tell you something? The judge that gave this judgment, nothing will happen to him. Nothing on this earth. They are just coming.
“And who is leading this group? Gbajabiamila. Have you forgotten what Gbajabiamila said on Hon Ajibade’s birthday? So they are just coming. This one is just a test. The next one they will do is the NDC.
“With the way they’re going, if Nigerians don’t shine their eyes when they will finally have this election, you will not have the major contenders in the ballot. This thing they have just done is to test reactions from Nigerians.
“I saw this thing coming. You know we are going into an election in which Atiku Abubakar is the only major candidate from the North. It’s not like the last one you have Kwankwaso that can split the Kano votes. And you have Peter Obi and general consensus that a lot of people are in abject penury, insecurity is raging hard.
“This is the beginning of many things. They are just testing the microphone. It’s engineered. More is coming. Nigerians, it is you that will save your democracy. Judicial reforms have become so important as insecurity in Nigeria.”
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has picked former Rivers State Governor and former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, as his running mate.
Announcing the decision, ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said Amaechi’s emergence followed broad consultations within the party and reflected his strong performance as runner-up in the party’s presidential primaries as well as his track records of service to his state and the country.
According to the ADC, Amaechi’s extensive experience across both the legislative and executive arms of government, as former Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, two-term Governor of Rivers State, and former Minister of Transportation, makes him uniquely qualified to complement Atiku’s leadership, strengthen the party’s national appeal, and bolster its campaign to offer Nigerians an experienced and credible alternative ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The party said the choice of Amaechi underscores its commitment to presenting a leadership team with proven governance experience and national appeal as it prepares for the 2027 presidential contest.
ThisDay
