Obi Vows to Substantiate Claims: Tinubu's Victory in 2023 Presidential Election Challenged

Labour Party's Presidential Candidate, Peter Obi, Vows to Present Witnesses in 7-Week Battle to

Disprove Tinubu's Victory in 2023 Presidential Election

 

During the Saturday session of the Presidential Election Petition Court, Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, announced his intention to present 50 witnesses within the next seven weeks. His objective is to provide substantial evidence proving that President-elect Bola Tinubu's victory, declared on March 1, was the result of fraudulent practices.

 

Obi's legal team, led by Awa Kalu SAN, conveyed this message to the court. Kalu also accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the first respondent, of failing to comply with the court's order regarding access to electoral materials.

 

Kalu stated, "My lords, we still face some obstacles at INEC due to the order made by this court on March 8, instructing them to grant us a forensic examination of the BVAS. They have not adhered to our request. We are also awaiting the delivery of certain documents we had previously requested from them."

 

Kalu further informed the court that, following the court's instructions to streamline proceedings, both parties had agreed to allocate 55 minutes for witness testimonies, examination, and cross-examination.

 

However, INEC's lawyer, A.B. Mahmoud SAN, refuted the claim that the Commission had not complied with the court's order on election materials. He stated, "I have no knowledge of such obstacles. I had previously assured the lead counsel for the petitioners, Dr. Livy Uzoukwu, SAN, that I would be available to assist him in any way possible should he encounter any difficulties. Thus far, I have not received any complaints from him." He added that he would present two witnesses against Obi's claims.

 

Based on the documents obtained from INEC, the electoral body plans to call one of its Deputy Directors from the ICT Department as a witness to counter Obi's allegations that the election was flawed due to non-compliance with the electoral act, specifically concerning the real-time transmission of results to the INEC Results Viewing Portal.

 

Tinubu's legal team requested a three-week period to summon 21 witnesses in defense of their client. The case was adjourned until Monday.

 

To recap, Obi seeks to nullify Tinubu's victory, claiming that he did not secure the majority of lawful votes cast in the presidential election. The petitioner argues that the election results were tampered with in approximately 18,000 polling units, and instances of overvoting occurred in parts of the South West and North regions. Obi believes that if the actual results from those 18,000 polling units are considered, he would emerge as the leading candidate.

 

One excerpt from Obi's petition reads, "It should be determined that the 2nd Respondent (Tinubu), having failed to score one-quarter of the votes cast at the presidential election in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, was not entitled to be declared and returned as the winner of the presidential election held on 25th February 2023."