The Imo State Governorship Election suit Tribunal, located in Abuja, has given parties to the suit contesting the All Progressive Congress (APC) candidate Hope Uzodimma’s victory in the November 11, 2023, election until March 21 to conclude their legal proceedings.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was accused of refusing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Samuel Anyanwu, their candidate for governor of Imo State, access to materials needed to conduct the state’s gubernatorial election, during the final procedures on Monday.
The PDP and its candidate informed the Abuja electoral tribunal that they required the documentation to demonstrate that Uzodimma did not receive the majority of the vote.
In response to the claim, INEC informed the tribunal that the petitioners had not complied with the requirements outlined in Federal High Court Rule 10 and Section 253(2) of the Evidence Act.
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Johnson Usman, the petitioners’ lead attorney, said that the electoral board had disregarded the court’s ruling by refusing to provide his clients with certain voter registration and other electoral materials utilized in the gubernatorial election.
He informed the three-person panel, chaired by Justice O. Akintan-Osadebay, that the commission has declined to provide the electoral materials even after receiving N5 million as processing fees from the petitioners since January 26, 2024.
Usman added: “On February 7, 2024, INEC said we should pay N50,000 for the Certified True Copy (CTC), which we did, and it issued us a receipt.” He lamented that out of the 27 local councils of the state, INEC only provided the CTC of the voters register from seven of them.
