BVAS: We Will Occupy Your Offices Nationwide, LP Tells INEC

Posted by Nwa Diokpa Featured, Latest Headlines, News Across Nigeria Saturday, March 11th, 2023

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – The Labour Party has stated that it will call on its members to occupy offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission nationwide as the electoral body is allegedly undermining its petition against the outcome of the 2023 presidential election.

The spokesman for the Presidential Campaign Council of the party, Dr Yunusa Tanko, in a statement issued on Saturday, accused INEC of disobeying the order of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal directing the body to grant the party and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, access to the certified true copies of materials used in conducting of the poll.

“It will be recalled that the aforesaid order of the presidential election petition tribunal was duly served on INEC on March 3, 2023, despite the fact that they were present and represented at the tribunal when the Order was made.

“Not minding the service of the said order on INEC, and a reminder letter dated March 6, 2023, and delivered the same date at the INEC Headquarters Abuja, the electoral umpire has continued to ignore and or disobey the valid Order of such magnitude till now,” Tanko said.

The African Examiner recalls that the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on March 3 had obliged to the request of the Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and his Labour Party’s counterpart to inspect the election materials used during the February 25 presidential poll.

The duo had approached the Presidential Election Court asking permission for the inspection of election materials used during the poll.

Reacting further, Tanko said, “The action of INEC under reference also constitutes for all intent and purposes, an act of judicial insubordination and willful refusal to comply with the order of court.

“As we speak INEC has chosen to obey the court order given to it to reconfigure the BIVAS machine, which they doing right now and ignoring the order granted to us to inspect electoral materials.

“We, therefore, call on the general public to note the level of lawlessness and brazen disobedience to a lawful order of a court by an important statutory agency such as INEC, and which is a well-calculated attempt to undermine and frustrate the presentation of the petition by the Labour Party and its presidential candidate before the tribunal in good time.

“We, therefore, want to state that we will not fail to call our supporters to march to INEC offices nationwide in a non-violent protest which is allowed by law.”