INEC Refers Atiku To State Offices For Documents, After 6.6m Payment

On Wednesday, 7th of June 2023, Abubakar Atiku, the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) blamed the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) for clogging the wheel of progress in the persecution of his petition.

Atiku told the Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC, on Wednesday in Abuja that in spite of paying N6.69 million to the commission for certified true copies of documents he intends to tender in evidence, the commission failed to make the documents available.

“We thought all these documents will be made available to us and we won’t have to go to the States to collect them.” He said.

Chris Uche,SAN, made it known that the petitioner said it was discouraging for the commission to say that some of the documents they paid for were outside Abuja .

Chris Uche, informed the court that the petitioners have three witnesses and went to call the first one, an Adhoc staff of INEC. As soon as the witness entered the witness box and took his oath, counsel to INEC, Mr Abubakar Mahmoud, SAN, rose in objection to the hearing of the evidence of the witness. INEC, Tinubu and APC through their individual lawyers objected to the taking of the evidence of the witness.

Chief Chris Uche, SAN, proceeded to tender certified true copies of documents for 10 out of 21 local government areas of Kogi which were the only documents the commission had made available for the day. The petitioners also tendered form EC8D for Anambra state.

Atiku Abubakar urge the PEPC to declare him as the Nigeria president-elect or cancel the election and order a fresh election due to alleged irregularities that marred the February 25 poll in thousands of polling units.

The further hearing into the petition has been shifted till June 8.