Two ad-hoc Presiding Officers (POs) of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday affirmed that the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) failed to upload the results of the February 25 presidential election into the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
The presiding officers testified as subpoenaed witnesses in the petition challenging the election of President Bola Tinubu by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Atiku Abubakar.
The subpoenaed witnesses who are former National Youth Service Corps members (NYSC), who served as INEC ad-hoc staff are Alheri Ayuba (PW17) and Sadiat Muhammed Haruna (PW18) who presided over the election at two separate polling units in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. Before adopting their witness statements, counsel to the Independent National Electoral Commission, Dr. Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), counsel to President Tinubu, Chief Akin Olujinmi (SAN) and that of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ajibola Fashanu, all objected to their competence to testify in the proceedings.
Counsel to Tinubu, Olujinmi said: “I oppose to the competence of the witness to testify. I will advance reasons earlier canvassed in other subpoenaed witnesses in urging the court to disqualify them. Other respondents’ counsels aligned with the submission of Olujinmi in urging the court to disqualify the subpoenaed witnesses. Regardless, the court urged the witnesses to proceed with their evidence, while adjourning ruling on the objections to the last day of judgment. Lead counsel to the petitioners, Chief Chris Uche (SAN) who had earlier urged the court to disregard the objections, led the witnesses in their evidence-in- chief. The first was Alheri Ayuba, who was cross-examined by counsel to INEC Oluwakemi Pinheiro.
