Tribunal orders INEC to allow PDP inspect election materials in A’Ibom

The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Uyo, Akwa Ibom on Thursday ordered INEC to allow the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) legal team to inspect election materials used during the March 9 Governorship Election.

The tribunal Chairman, Justice A. M. Yakubu, gave the order while ruling in a Motion on Notice filed by the PDP legal team led by Mr Godwill Umoh.

Yakubu, ordered INEC to comply with the order of the court without further delay, stressing that it was an offence for the commission to disobey tribunal order.

Speaking to newsmen, the lead Counsel to Gov Udom Emmanuel and PDP, Umoh said the party approached the tribunal through a Notice on Motion, to order INEC to allow the party, inspect election materials used during the governorship election on March 9.

“Actually what we have done today basically, is to take the motion. It shows the level of compliance not necessarily with the law but with society.

“What we did as I said, we could have gone ordinarily by written application through the Resident Electoral Commissioner.

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”We could have done that through Notice Exparte, without giving the other side notice but because we needed to bring them, we always asked for a fair level playing ground as some people normally say.

“Above all legitimately, if we are armed with this order of the court, it becomes much easier because if you look at the law, if you make an application, INEC is supposed to supply all the information within seven days and if they don’t do that, it becomes criminal.

“We came to court to obtain the leave of the court to order INEC to allow us to inspect the materials used for the governorship election on March 9.

“INEC is supposed to be an umpire like they have done, they conducted the election, so there is nothing to be afraid of providing all the information required by parties,” Umoh said.

Umoh added that the inspection of the election materials would enable the PDP to show how they won in the just concluded governorship election in Akwa Ibom.

Also at the tribunal, today, the lead Counsel to Mr Nsima Ekere, the APC governorship candidate in Akwa Ibom on March 9, election, informed the tribunal that INEC was frustrating the party from inspecting the election materials as ordered by the tribunal since April 15.