Election petition: INEC refusing Atiku access to election materials ― PDP

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), led by Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, of refusing to obey the March 6, 2019 ruling of the Appeal Court, directing it to allow the party and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, access to inspect the documents and materials used in the rigged February 23, 2019 Presidential election.

In a statement issued in Abuja on Saturday by Kola Ologbondiyan, National Publicity Secretary and Director, Media & Publicity PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation, the main opposition said INEC’s action was a deliberate and wicked ploy by INEC to frustrate the “people-backed” resolve by Atiku and the PDP to timeously file and mention its petition at the Presidential election Tribunal, and by so doing, ambush the case.

The said INEC was acting in cahoots with the All Progressives Congress (APC).

It added: “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.

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“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, therefore, cautioned the INEC to note that Nigerians were 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,” the statement declared.