The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on Friday, opposed all the copies of polling unit result sheets tendered by the Labour Party and its candidate, Peter Obi, in aid of his petition against the election of President Bola Tinubu.
INEC, since the start of the hearing, opposed the election documents brought to the Presidential Election Petition Court by the petitioners as exhibits to prove their case.
During the day’s hearing, counsel for INEC, Kemi Pinhero, SAN, told the court that the electoral body objected to the tendering of the election result sheets because the petitioners went beyond the areas where the election was being disputed.
He said, the local government areas improperly brought into the proceedings of the court are strange to the petition and cannot stand in the face of the law.
Interjecting, the chairman of the five-man panel, Justice Harunna Tsammani, held that it was unacceptable for the lawyer to give reasons for their objection after the commission had indicated that it would advance reasons at the address stage of proceedings.
Recall, on Thursday, the Presidential Election Petition Court, received evidence of electoral materials from 6 states which includes; River State with 15 Local government, Benue 23, Niger State 23, Osun 20, Cross River 18 and Ekiti 16 by the Labour Party and Mr. Peter Obi.
However, during Friday’s proceedings, Peter Afoba, SAN, who conducted the proceedings for Obi and LP tendered before the PEPC, additional exhibits to back up their petition against Tinubu which were admitted and marked as Exhibits PB 16 to PB 21.
The exhibits, which were admitted as evidence by the Justice Haruna Tsammani-led panel, consisted of certified true copies of results of the presidential election from six states of the federation – Adamawa, Bayelsa, Oyo, Edo, Lagos and Akwa Ibom states.
The petitioners also tendered evidence before the court, including the result from Bida Local Government Area in Niger State, which was admitted as Exhibit PE 24.
The court thereafter admitted results from 21 LGAs in Adamawa State and marked them as Exhibits PH 1 to PH 21. It also admitted the results of the presidential election from eight LGAs in Bayelsa State and marked them as Exhibits PJ1 to PJ 8.
Results from 31 LGAs in Oyo that the court admitted as exhibits were marked PK 1 – PK 31, while results from 18 LGAs in Edo State were marked as Exhibits PL1- PL 18.
Further tendered were results from 20 LGAs in Lagos State, which were admitted as Exhibits PM 1 – PM 20, and results from 31 LGAs in Akwa Ibom State, accepted in evidence as Exhibits PN 1–PN 31.
The panel adjourned the case to Monday, May 5, for further hearing.
Meanwhile, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has said he is gratified by the efforts made by their legal team.
Shortly after the day’s proceedings, Obi tweeted, “Today, LP Chairman Barr Julius Abure, Sen. Datti Baba-Ahmed, Sen Victor Lar, and I along with a host LP and Obidients Family members, were at the Presidential Election Tribunal (PEPT), in Abuja. I’m gratified by the diligent efforts of our legal team. -PO”
