By Becky Usman
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Yakubu Mahmood, has submitted important documents to the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) regarding the petition filed by Alhaji Abubakar Atiku and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
The documents, presented on Thursday by Mrs. Morenikeji Tairu, Deputy Director of the Certification and Complaints, Legal Drafting and Clearance Department of the commission, include Form EC9 pertaining to President Bola Tinubu, who is the second respondent in the petition.
Form EC9 is an affidavit that provides information about individuals seeking election to the office of the president and vice-president.
The court had previously issued a subpoena to Mahmood, requesting certain documents related to the conduct of the February 25 presidential election following an application by Atiku.
Mr. Chris Uche, SAN, counsel to the petitioners, stated that in their May 26 application, they listed 11 items that Mahmood should present to the court.
However, Mrs. Tairu informed the court that only four of the requested items were available.
The available items included the Form EC8D series (results from states), EC8DA (final declaration of results), Certified True Copies (CTCs) of the Rivers Bi-modal Verification Accreditation System (BVAS) report, as well as the BVAS report from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and President Tinubu’s Form EC9 (providing personal information to INEC in support of his qualification for the presidential election).
INEC’s lawyer, Mr. Abubakar Mahmoud, SAN, along with Mr. Wole Olanipekun, SAN, counsel to Tinubu, and the representative of the All Progressives Congress (APC), objected to the admissibility of the documents as evidence.
Uche responded to INEC’s assertion that the certified documents had not been paid for by reiterating that his clients had already paid INEC the sum of N6.7 million for certification.
He further emphasized that the documents presented to the court were those specifically subpoenaed by the court.
Atiku and the PDP have approached the PEPC to challenge the process and outcome of the February 25 presidential election, which resulted in Tinubu’s presidency.
They argue that the election was conducted in violation of electoral laws and contend that President Tinubu was ineligible to participate in the poll due to alleged double nomination and dual citizenship.