PDP condemns INEC’s non-release of electoral materials

Tribunal grants APC, Adelabu access to polls items
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday condemned Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu’s refusal to obey a Court of Appeal order to release the February 23, Presidential election materials.In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, it said INEC was standing in the way of justice and working against Nigerians’ quest to salvage the nation and reclaim their stolen mandate at the election tribunal.

“INEC’s continued refusal to release the electoral materials to PDP and our legal team is provocative and shows that the commission is working in collaboration with the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Muhammadu Buhari Presidency to frustrate the PDP, its candidate, Atiku Abubakar and Nigerians from retrieving our mandate.

“INEC and APC are apprehensive that the materials, particularly forms EC8D and EC40G, as well as report on Smart Card Readers used in the Presidential election will show that PDP and Atiku clearly won the Presidential elections,” the statement reads.

The PDP said it had been reliably informed of how APC and some compromised INEC top officials have been boasting that they will never allow the materials and documents to be released to PDP’s legal team.“This is the reason APC and INEC manufactured claims that form EC8D, EC40G and card readers reports were not specifically captured in the order of court whereas the court was unequivocal in its order that all election materials be made available to our legal team,” the statement added.

It stressed that INEC’s refusal to release the materials, was therefore, a deliberate and vicious disobedience to court orders for which the commission’s management should be charged for contempt.Meanwhile, the Election Petition Tribunal in Oyo State yesterday ordered INEC to allow APC’s gubernatorial candidate, Adebayo Adelabu, to inspect the March 9, 2019 governorship election materials.

The commission had declared Seyi Makinde of PDP winner of the poll by scoring 515,621 votes to defeat Adelabu who got 357,982 votes.He ordered INEC to allow the petitioners and their agents to inspect and obtain all polling documents in its custody.Earlier, Adelabu’s counsel, Olajide Ola, had prayed the court to grant his motion ex parte to inspect the materials. Adelabu and APC filed a petition at the tribunal against INEC for declaring Makinde winner.