Three Presiding Officers of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Monday told the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) in Abuja that the failure of the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) machine to transmit the results of the February 25 presidential election frustrated their jobs.
The Officers admitted that the results of the Senate and the House of Representatives elections were transmitted unhindered and that technical glitches arose at the point of transmitting only the presidential election results.
The three witnesses, who were subpoenaed to testify at the ongoing hearing of a petition jointly filed by the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and his party challenging the outcome of the February 25 presidential election, admitted that the election process went well until the period the BVAS machines failed to work.
The witnesses, Janet Nuhu Turaki, Christopher Bulus Ardo and Victoria Sani, served as INEC’s Presiding Officers in Yobe, Bauchi and Katsina States respectfully.
They had been summoned by the Court through the joint application of the PDP and Atiku Abubakar to appear before it and give accounts of their experiences in relation to the transmission of election results during the last presidential election.
Janet Turaki who first testified said, the accreditation of voters was successful but that the process became frustrating at the point of uploading the election results.
She emphasized that while the results of the National Assembly election sailed smoothly, that of the presidential election failed and refused to work throughout the day.
The witness however informed the Court that the collated results in the forms EC8A were signed by the party agents and herself as INEC’s Presiding Officer.
In his own evidence, Christopher Bulus Ardo told the Court that he felt unfulfilled in his assignment with INEC on the election because he could not transmit the presidential election results as required by law.
In her own, Victoria Sani said she could not remember the candidate that won the presidential poll in Katsina state but insisted that all did not end well due to the inability to transmit the presidential election results.
The proceedings of Monday were conducted by Eyitayo Jegede (SAN) for Atiku Abubakar and PDP as petitioners, Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN) for INEC, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Charles Edosomwen (SAN) represented the APC.
Meanwhile, the five-member panel of Justices of the court, headed by Justice Haruna Tsammani has adjourned till Tuesday, June 20 for a continuation of the hearing in the petition.
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