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INEC is deliberately frustrating our case, withholding required documents, LP tells tribunal

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The Labour Party (LP) and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, have again accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of deliberately frustrating their case.

Obi and LP are challenging the outcome of the election held on February 25 which produced Bola Tinubu as Nigeria’s president.

At the court session on Monday, Jibrin Okutepa, counsel to petitioners, told the court that INEC is holding the legal team “hostage” by refusing to provide the documents requested for.

Narrating the experience which he termed “excruciating”, Okutepa said: “We are bringing this to your lordships’ notice because we have done everything humanly possible, including letter writing, and persuasion and it seems to us that we need to come before your lordships to come to our aid.”

“This afternoon, we received a few copies of IREV reports for a few LGAs in Lagos state, including Agege, Mushin, Oshodi, Isolo, epe, Surulere, Eti-Osa and Alimosho,” he continued.

“Each document was certified on May 29 but they decided to give it to us today.

“The same thing with Gombe. They just gave us the IREV report for just two LGAs. Those ones were also certified on May 29.

“We have consistently written letters, including the letter that I personally signed and delivered on May 20 to A.B Mahmoud (INEC lawyer), detailing all the documents we wanted.”

The senior lawyer said the letters were written to INEC, requesting documents to help prove their petition, noting that the letters were acknowledged by the commission.

He said INEC also refused to accept service of the subpoenas issued to them

“It appears that INEC is deliberately frustrating us….We have nowhere to cry to except to your lordships,” Okutepa said.

He prayed the court to direct that a copy of the subpoena should be served on INEC through its lawyer.

CLAIMS ARE UNFOUNDED SAYS INEC

Responding, Abubakar Mahmoud, INEC counsel, described Okutepa’s allegations as “unfounded”.

He said he only received one letter from Livy Uzoukwu, petitioner’s lead counsel, on May 15 which he said was promptly replied to on the same day.

“Aside from that, I have not received any other communication from the counsel,” he said.

Mahmoud said Okutekpa never approached him to talk about issues.

“There is absolutely no reason to deny LP any documents,” the INEC lawyer said.

“There are procedures and costs which they are fully aware of. If counsel chooses not to follow them and then just comes here and blames INEC, I don’t think that is correct.

“I’m taken aback by this complaint. It is totally unfounded and if counsel has issued a subpoena, he should follow the process. He didn’t consult me about the subpoena and he never brought any issue to me on any refusal to accept any subpoena. We are happy to help in any way we can.

“We are taken aback and I don’t think we would continue to sit here and hear lamentations that are unfounded.”

However, Uzoukwu denied receiving any response to his letter.

“I’m really shocked that my brother AB Mahmoud said he replied to my letter,” he said.

“It is possible that he replied maybe the letter wasn’t sent to me. I can say authoritatively, that I received no letter whatsoever.”

He prayed the court to make an order against INEC to comply with the subpoena and produce the documents they are requesting.

COURT SPEAKS

Addressing parties, Stephen Adah, one of the justices in the five-member panel, said the lawyers must imbibe the spirit of cooperation.

“When we started these proceedings, we talked about the spirit of cooperation so its amazing when we sit down here and hear these kinds of things,” he said.

“If the cooperation is on the table why won’t you just walk to your colleague and say we are having issues with your client and get it sorted out? But you people go bureaucratic and when things don’t work, you come and make complaints here.

Monsurat Bolaji-Yusuf, the only female on the panel, said: “This allegation is becoming a recurring issue.”

“I think you should realise that sentiments, playing to the gallery, blackmail or whatever from anybody will not help in the determination of this case. What will help is cooperating in the interest of this nation,” she said.

“If truly, you are having problems accessing documents, approach your learned friends and let them know. I am sure Olanipekun, Mahmoud and other very senior counsels have the interest of this nation at heart and will not do anything that would distract the integrity and standing of this nation in the committee of nations.

“You don’t want people outside to hear that you are being denied documents and the right to present your case. Therefore we do not want a display of an attempt to blackmail or an attempt of the other side to frustrate the case of anybody.

“This is a serious business and counsel on all sides should take it seriously. We do not want a repeat of this.”

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Edo PDP opposes suspension of LG bosses by state assembly, says ‘It’s unconstitutional’

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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo says the suspension of all the chairpersons and their deputies in the 18 LGAs of the state is “unconstitutional”.

The chairpersons and their deputies were suspended on Tuesday by the Edo state house of assembly for two months over alleged misappropriation of funds.

Blessing Agbebaku, the speaker of the house, said Monday Okpebholo, governor of Edo, had written a petition to the assembly regarding the chairpersons’ refusal to submit the financial records of their LGs to the state government.

In a statement, Anthony Aziegbemi, chair of the PDP in Edo, said the “illegal” suspension is a disregard to a supreme court decision that affirms the autonomy and independence of local governments.

“How can the governor direct the State Assembly to suspend democratically elected chairmen of the 18 local councils for insubordination when these elected officials enjoy autonomy and independence as enshrined in the constitution and are not subordinates of the governor, the state assembly, or any other arm of government?,” he said.

“We are also aware that the chairmen and their vices were not even given the opportunity to be heard in their detence and were suspended unheard on watery trumped up charges, in total disregard to the constitution.

“We want to restate that the constitution remains supreme, and any attempt to undermine its provisions or disregard the judiciary and its rulings is not only illegal but also a direct attack on democracy and the rule of law.

“The speaker of the Edo state house of assembly and the entire assembly have clearly overstepped their constitutional mandates with this illegal action and we urge them to immediately reverse its decision, in respect to the rule of law and democratic governance.”

Aziegbemi said the suspended officials should report to their councils on Wednesday and carry on with their normal duties.

Also speaking on the issue, Anthony Ehilebo, a PDP chieftain, said Okpebholo has no legal backing to request the financial records of the LGAs.

“In fact, the governor and the assembly members are in contempt of the supreme court,” Ehilebo said when he appeared on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme.

“The purported suspension of the local government chairmen by the state assembly is as absurd as the president asking the national assembly to suspend state governors because they refused to submit statements of accounts to him.

“This is a witch hunt. The LGA chairmen are all PDP members.”

The lawyer said the suspension “is unknown to law and will be ignored”.

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Ex-sports minister Bolaji Abdullahi resigns from PDP

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Bolaji Abdullahi, a former minister of sports and youth development, has resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He disclosed his intention to resign in a letter dated December 16 and addressed to the PDP ward chairman in Ubadawaki, Kwara state.

Abdullahi confirmed the development to TheCable on Monday.

The ex-minister also said he is yet to decide which political platform to pitch tent with.

“The decision of what to do and where to go will be taken in the future that’s left to God,” he said.

In the resignation letter, Abdullahi said he reached the “difficult” decision after days of reflection and introspection.

“I write to formally resign my membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),” the letter reads.

“I have had ample time to reflect, and I have come to the difficult conclusion that this is the only tenable option for me at this time.

“Mr. Chairman, please permit me to express, through you, my gratitude to the leadership of the party for the opportunities that I have had to serve the state and the country on its platform, and for the great moments we have shared.”

Abdullahi was the PDP candidate for the Kwara central senatorial district election in 2023. He lost the race to Salihu Mustapha of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

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PDP debunks inviting Jonathan to contest 2027 presidency

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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says it has not extended an invitation to former President Goodluck Jonathan to contest the presidency on its platform in the 2027 election.

Speaking with BBC Hausa, Ibrahim Abdullahi, deputy spokesperson of the country’s main opposition party, said no ticket has been issued to the former president.

Abdullahi said the party has many eligible people who can contest for the presidency on its platform, adding that a recent interview he granted was interpreted to mean that Jonathan he asked to run on the PDP platform.

“The report that PDP has issued its presidential ticket to former President Goodluck Jonathan or invited him to contest the 2027 presidential election is not true,” he said.

“What happened is this, I had an interview with a journalist where we discussed some issues.

“But in the course of the interview, he mentioned President Jonathan, asking about our opinion of him, because there are reports that he is being urged to run for the presidency.

“I responded by saying that he (Jonathan) is eligible to contest the election, because he is a Nigerian and has the right to do that by the provision of the law, and he still has one more term left.

“So, there is nothing wrong about him contesting the presidential election because he is eligible in the face of the law.”

The deputy spokesperson said the ticket would be given to someone who has shown interest in running for the presidency.

Jonathan, then in the PDP, lost the presidential election to former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.

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