The lead Counsel for the Labour Party in the suit challenging the outcome of the 2023 presidential election, Onyechi Ikpeazu has disclosed one of the petitions INEC took to the Appeal Court.
This comes as the party makes efforts to get the court to grant them access to the BVAS before INEC reconfigures them for the governorship election.
According to Onyechi Ikpeazu, INEC requested that the court stops the Labour Party from reviewing the BVAS machine saying it will reveal the identities of the voters and who they voted for.
The lawyer stated that they expect the court not to pay much attention to the application by INEC because it does not make sense.
He added that the more serious petition that came before the court from INEC was its request to allow it reconfigure the BVAS machine stating that the exercise will wipe out all the data in the BVAS.
Onyechi Ikpeazu stated that his team had already told the Appeal Court that the Labour Party does not have the intention of accessing the identities of the voters, rather, they simply want to check the details of the number of accredited voters. The details and other relevant information would enable them prove that there were irregularities during the election.
Meanwhile, Peter Obi has shelved all his planned itinerary this morning to get to to the court to see things for himself.
He said: “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.
“However, following INEC’s refusal to allow our party to inspect the materials (including BVAS) from the 25th February presidential elections, I am personally heading to the Court today with our lawyers.”
He also sounded a note of caution to Obideients. According to him, “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! -PO“
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