BVAS: Court of Appeal ruling to determine fate of March 11 polls

Court of Appeal in Abuja will Wednesday rule on applications of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) seeking to stop an injunction earlier granted to the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) on the inspection of sensitive materials of the electoral umpire deployed for the February 25 polls.

INEC in an application before the appellant court is seeking the leave to reconfigure the thousands of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devises used for the February 25 polls to be redeployed for the March Governorship and state Assembly polls nationwide.

The implication of the appellant court ruling would either mean a postponement of the nationwide governorship, State Assembly, the 8 rescheduled senatorial zones elections all fixed for March 11, if the court grants the application of the Labour Party.

It could also mean that the alleged destruction of evidence which Labour Party claims are stored in the BVAS devices deployed in the February 25 Presidential ad National Assembly polls, if the court grants the application of INEC to reconfigure the BVA devices.

However, while the Labour Party’s lawyers questioned the motives of INEC to be so hasty to compromise the principal evidence of the election umpire’s fraudulent manipulation of the election results, INEC insists it needed to reconfigure the 176,846 BVAS devices to be ready for the March 11 governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections.

Obi expressed disappointment at INEC’s decision to bar inspection of its materials used in the February 25 election, stating that his party had the right to inspect the materials used in the election.

According to him, the inspection was crucial to ensure that the electoral process was transparent and free from any form of irregularities.

The case is being heard by a three-person Court of Appeal panel headed by Justice Joseph Ikyegh.

Already the three main opposition parties, Labour Party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), have all rejected the election results announced by INEC, along with other political actors and civil society groups in the country.

LP and PDP, in an unprecedented move, jointly called for the resignation of the INEC Chairman Professor Mahmood Yakubu on February 28, 2023 and for the cancellation of the exercise, which they described as a ‘travesty’ and ‘rape of democracy.’

And while the PDP and LP have since filed separate suits before the Presidential Election Tribunal (PET) in Abuja challenging the presidential poll, the NNPP has opted not to seek legal redress.  

Meanwhile, in a statement released on his verified Twitter handle, the LP candidate, Obi announced halting his earlier planned whistle-stop campaign for various Labour Party Governorship and State Assembly Candidates across several states in Nigeria, including Nasarawa, Lagos, Enugu, Abia, Delta, Edo, Rivers, Plateau, Borno, among others.

According to him, the refusal by INEC to allow his party to inspect the materials has forced him to put the campaign on hold and focus on the legal battle ahead.

“I am supposed to commence our whistle-stop campaign for our various Labour Party Governorship and State Assembly Candidates today. Initially, my trip was to take me to Nasarawa, Lagos, Enugu, Abia, Delta, Edo, Rivers, Plateau, Borno, etc.

“As we pursue due process and defer to the rule of law, I urge all the OBIdients in the various states to continue campaigning for our candidates, namely, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour in Lagos, Chijoke Edeoga in Enugu, Patrick Dakum in Plateau, Alex Otti in Abia, Ken Pela in Delta.

“Ibrahim Mshelia in Borno, to name just a few. It is also imperative that Obidients vote for candidates with Competence, Character, Capacity, and Compassion.

“I remain committed and will give more attention to our mission of retrieving our mandate. A new Nigeria is possible!”