The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has accused the Labour Party (LP) and its presidential candidate Peter Obi of refusing to pay the appropriate costs for the certification of the election documents demanded to prosecute their petition.
INEC stated that the failure to pay the appropriate fees is to blame for the delay in the distribution of the remaining records pertaining to Sokoto and Rivers states.
At the resumed hearing of the case by Obi and LP, INEC’s lead lawyer, Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN), told the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) that his client was willing and ready to deliver the requested records once the required fees were paid.
Mahmoud cited a letter from the petitioners’ lawyer, Livy Uzoukwu (SAN), in which he stated that his clients were unwilling to pay the N1.5 million asked for the certification of the document in reference to Sokoto State.
He also accused the Labour Party of abandoning a meeting called by the parties to sort out documents to be submitted as exhibits in the case.
Earlier, Uzoukwu told the court that INEC was making it difficult for his clients to obtain the election documentation needed as exhibits in their case.
He claimed to have sent five letters, visited INEC headquarters, and even talked with the INEC Chairman about the matter, all to no avail.
He prayed the court to compel INEC to make the documents, including Form EC8A available to the petitioners.
He denied that the petitioners’ team walked out of the meeting as claimed by Mahmoud.
