The Labour Party, (LP), has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of frustrating its petition against the outcome of the 2023 presidential election.
At a press conference in Lagos, Spokesman of the Presidential Campaign Council of the party, Dr. Yunusa Tanko, accused INEC of disobeying the order of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal which directed it to grant the Party and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, access to the certified true copies of materials used in the conduct of the poll.
The Spokesman said the order of the presidential election petition tribunal was duly served on INEC on March 3 despite the fact that the Commission was present and represented at the tribunal when the order was made.
He said the party also sent a letter to the Commission on March 6, reminding the electoral umpire that it was yet to obey the order.
Yunusa threatened that Labour Party might ask its supporters to stage protests at offices of the commission over the refusal to obey the court order.
According to him, “The action of INEC under reference also constitutes for all intent and purposes, an act of judicial insubordination and willful refusal to comply with the order of court”.
He noted that while INEC has refused the party access to the election materials, the Commission has started reconfiguring the BVAS machines without representatives of the parties in the case in attendance to confirm the data that is being backed up.
Dr. Tanko, who maintained that Obi won the election from the results submitted by its party agents from the polling units, urged Nigerians to vote for candidates of the Party in the rescheduled March 18 Governorship/State Assembly elections.
