Atiku to Tribunal: Summon INEC Chairman as witness

Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last general elections, Atiku Abubakar, has advised the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) to summon the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, to appear before it.

Atiku, who was the first runner-up in the February 25 presidential election, equally asked the tribunal to summon the Secretary of the Commission, Rose Oriarian-Anton, as well as INEC’s national commissioner, Festus Okoye.

The former vice president said he would obtain subpoenas to compel them to appear before the court to give evidence and also tender sensitive electoral documents.

“We had earlier indicated our intention to bring them as subpoenaed witnesses and we have gotten to that stage that they may be required to appear in this matter,” Atiku said through his counsel, Chris Uche (SAN).

“We have already indicated that we want them here, but by Thursday, we will make the formal application.”

Atiku and the PDP made their decision to summon the INEC bosses after they produced two more witnesses that testified before the PEPC.

It would be recalled that despite objections from President Bola Tinubu and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Justice Haruna Tsammani-led five-member panel, okayed five ad-hoc staff of INEC who were part of the people who conducted the presidential election to testify as witnesses in the case.

In their separate testimonies before the court, the five INEC ad-hoc staff admitted that the results of the presidential election were not electronically transmitted.

President Tinubu, through his lawyer, Chief Olujinmi (SAN) told the court that he equally canvassed similar argument against replies and additional statements filed by the petitioners.

While the Justice Tsammani-led panel reserved ruling on the issue, it however adopted in evidence, INEC’s manual for election officials as well as guidelines for the conduct of the 2023 general elections which were tendered by the petitioners.

The court marked the two documents as Exhibits PAE-1 and PAE-2.

The panel subsequently adjourned further hearing on the petition till today, June 14.