•as INEC witness fails to appear in court
Lawyer to the Labour Party (LP), Levi Uzoukwu has said that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are not prepared to defend its case at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal.
Uzoukwu made this comment on Monday, shortly after the court adjourned its resumed sitting, following the absence of INEC’s first defence witness.
Speaking to newsmen just outside the court, the LP lawyer said his camp has a strong case and are ready to move on with their case, unlike the INEC that has continued to show inconsistencies.
“Given the contradictions and inconsistencies and what INEC has done; I’m sure they are not read to defend this case,” Uzoukwu asserted.
“I stand to be proven wrong, but I would wish that they defend this matter so that the public will see more things of what happened to this election.”
While reiterating that Nigeria has never had an election like the February 25th presidential poll, the legal counsel stressed that it is the INEC’s choice to either call a witness or witnesses, adding that he and his client the LP, are ready at all times.
However, a witness of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was absent at the Presidential Election Petitions Court (PEPC) on Monday, setting back the electoral body’s commencement of defence at the ongoing proceedings.
INEC, which is the first respondent in the petition by the Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, was scheduled to open its defence today.
The petitioners are challenging the emergence of President Bola Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the February 25 election.
At the resumed hearing, counsel to INEC, Abubakar Mahmoud, told the court that he planned to call three witnesses within three days, but the one slated for the day’s hearing was unavailable due to some domestic issues.
He subsequently applied for an adjournment till Tuesday to enable the witness to attend court.
Counsel to other parties did not object to the request by INEC’s counsel.
The Chairmen of the panel, Justice Haruna Tsammani, subsequently adjourned till 9 am on Tuesday for the hearing.
INEC is also expected to open its defence at 2 pm in the petition by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.