The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday accused the Chairman of the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Mahmood Yakubu,
of refusing the party’s presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar
access to presidential election materials.
The Court of Appeal had ordered INEC to allow Atiku’s lawyers inspect
ballot materials used in the February 23 presidential election, in
furtherance of the petition filed by the PDP candidate against President
Muhammadu Buhari’s re-election.
appellate court, given on March 6, 2019. The PDP described INEC’s
actions as deliberate and wicked ploy, and accused the electoral body of
acting in cahoots with the governing All Progressives Congress (APC),
to frustrate the case.
The main opposition party further said that INEC’s action was meant to
ambush the case, adding that it’s a deliberate plot to knock Atiku off
the timeline prescribed by law for the PDP and its candidate to file the
case at the Tribunal.
The statement said, “It is imperative to inform Nigerians that upon
obtaining the lawful order of the Court, directing INEC to forthwith,
avail Atiku Abubakar and the PDP copies of all the documents and other
materials used for the Presidential election, our legal team wrote to
the INEC Chairman on the 11th and 12th of March 2019 respectively,
causing the Order to be served on INEC and requesting access to the said
documents and materials.
“Despite being served with the Order and several follow-ups, the
leadership of INEC has refused to grant the PDP and Atiku Abubakar
access to the materials and documents, notwithstanding the urgency of
the matter.
“This action by the leadership of INEC has further exposed that it has
been heavily compromised by the Buhari Presidency to rig the February
23, 2019 Presidential election and to frustrate the quest by Nigerians
to reclaim the mandate from President Muhammadu Buhari and save the
nation from the crisis of an illegitimate government.
“The leadership of INEC and the APC are seeking to frustrate our court
option, seeing that the documents and materials will expressly show that
Atiku Abubakar clearly won the election by the votes directly delivered
at the polling units across the country as well as expose how the
commission and the Buhari Presidency manipulated the results for
President Buhari.
“The PDP cautions the INEC to note that Nigerians are now aware of its
manipulative tendencies and that any further delay in granting access to
the materials might attract public odium.
“INEC should therefore end its unpatriotic partisan shenanigans with the
APC and immediately obey the Court of Appeal and grant the PDP and
Atiku Abubakar access to the documents and materials and free itself
from unholy entanglement with the APC against Nigerians.”
