Obi laments INEC's denial of access to BVAS

Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), has cried out that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is refusing him access to the sensitive materials used in conducting the February 25 presidential election, contrary to the decisions of the Court of Appeal.

As a result, the former governor of Anambra State, who came in third place behind Atiku Abubakar, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who came in first, stated that he would not be campaigning for the governorship and state Houses of Assembly candidates of the party in this Saturday's election.

Obi, who claimed in a statement on Wednesday that he had initially intended to launch a "whistle-stop campaign," explained that he would instead be travelling to court with his attorneys in response to INEC's refusal to allow the party to review electoral materials.

INEC urged the appellate court, acting as the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC), which granted Obi and Atiku's requests to inspect the documents, including the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices, to modify the order.

In a motion filed on Monday, the commission informed the court that it required to reconfigure the devices in order to hold the gubernatorial and Houses of Assembly elections on Saturday, a move that the LP and its candidate fiercely reject.

Obi, who through his lead attorney Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN) had refused the INEC request on the grounds that it was an attempt to remove critical evidence from the device, asked the party's supporters and the Obidient Movement to support the candidates of the party in the upcoming election.

"This is meant to be the beginning of our nonstop campaign for our various Labour Party candidates for governor and state assembly. My initial itinerary included Nasarawa, Lagos, Enugu, Abia, Delta, Edo, Rivers, Plateau, and Borno, among others.

"But, as a result of INEC's reluctance to permit our party to inspect the documents (including BVAS) from the 25th February presidential elections, I will be personally travelling to court with our attorneys today.

"As we adhere to due process and the rule of law, I urge all OBIdients in the various states to continue campaigning for our candidates, including Gbadebo Rhodes Vivour in Lagos, Chijoke Edeoga in Enugu, Patrick Dakum in Plateau, Alex Otti in Abia, Ken Pela in Delta, and Ibrahim Mshelia in Borno, to name a few. The electorate must vote for candidates who possess competence, integrity, capacity, and compassion. We remain determined to reclaiming our mandate."

Source: Whirlwind News