PDP goes to court, asks INEC to surrender election materials for inspection

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, yesterday filed a motion to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to surrender all the materials that were used for the February 23 presidential election for inspection.

According to the Nigerian Pilot, The motion ex-parte was lodged before the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal yesterday.

The Tribunal will conduct its proceedings at the Court of Appeal Headquarters in Abuja.

They equally prayed the tribunal to compel the electoral body to allow their agents to scan and make photocopies of vital documents used in the conduct of the election, for the purpose of establishing alleged irregularities.

The motion ex-parte was supported with a 12 paragraph affidavit that was deposed to by one Col. Austin Akobundu, rtd, the Director of Contact and Mobilization of the Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign Council.

Meanwhile, no date has been fixed for hearing of the motion which has INEC, President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress, APC, as 1st to 3rd Respondents.

Atiku who came second behind President Buhari of the APC, had earlier vowed to challenge the outcome of the presidential election in court, alleging that it was full of irregularities.

He maintained that results collated by agents at various polling units across the federation, was at variance with what was eventually declared by INEC, in favour of President Buhari.

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) had on Monday indicated that it would approach the court on Tuesday, March 5, to challenge the outcome of the February 23 presidential election and reclaim its mandate which, it said, was stolen by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Buhari polled 15,191,847 votes ahead of Atiku’s 11,262,978. Consequently, Mahmood Yakubu, chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), declared Buhari winner of the election.

Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the PDP, rejected the outcome of the election and pledged to challenge it in court.

Source: Nigerian Pilot