The National Collation Agent of the Peoples Democratic
Party, PDP, in the February 25 presidential election, Senator Dino Melaye on
Friday in Abuja, told the Presidential Election Petition Court that election
collation errors by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, led to
the declaration of President Bola Tinubu.
Melaye informed the court that he left the National
Collation Centre at the International Conference Centre in Abuja when the
alleged deliberate errors became unbearable and intolerable to him.
Senator Melaye testified as a star witness for former Vice
President, Atiku Abubakar, whose joint petition with the PDP seeks
nullification of Tinubu’s declaration as winner of the 2023 presidential
election.
Led in his evidence-in-chief by Atiku’s lead counsel, Chief
Chris Uche SAN, the witness said that he refused to sign the final collated
results so as not to be part of the corruption and malpractices that allegedly
engulfed the collation exercise.
Melaye, who is the second star witness in the hearing of the
petition, insisted that the results upon which INEC acted to declare Tinubu the
winner of the February 25 presidential election “were wrongly computed by
INEC”, adding that, “I didn’t endorse it, because I don’t endorse fraud.”
He also told the court that, aside from himself, many agents
of the PDP in the presidential election did not also sign the results at
various levels.
While responding to questions from Tinubu’s lawyer, Chief
Akin Olujimi, SAN, the witness argued that “failure of transmission of what has
been recorded is an infringement of the law.”
He pointed out that electronic transmission of results from
the polling units to the IReV is a very important aspect of the election
process, arguing that without the IReV, the election circle cannot be said to
have been completed.
“Results are transmitted from polling units before you move
to the ward collation centre”, he explained, adding that what was brought was
at variance with what transpired at the states level.
Meanwhile, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP),
Mr. Peter Obi, on Friday tendered additional video evidence to support claims
that INEC assured electronic transmission of the results of the 2023 general
elections.
The video clip containing live speeches of INEC’s Chairman,
Professor Yakubu Mahmood, was tendered by a subpoenaed witness and staff of
Daar Communication Ltd, AIT, Mrs Ijeoma Osamor.
The video evidence contained in a flash drive, which was
admitted as an exhibit, was also played in the open court. It showed a live
broadcast of the INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood, reassuring Nigerians of the
commitment of the commission to transmit the election results in real-time.
However, during cross-examination by APC’s lawyer, Mr
Abiodun Owonikoko, SAN, the witness denied knowledge of any press conference by
INEC where the commission clarified to Nigerians that the election can no
longer be transmitted electronically.
Meanwhile, hearings in both petitions have been adjourned
till Monday, June 19.
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