Peter Gregory Obi, the Labour Party’s (LP) candidate for the presidency in the February 25 presidential election, and his party declared on Thursday in Abuja that they will only contest the election results in 18 states to the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC).
In the states where they decisively and uncontestedly won, they maintained that they would not let their efforts wane.
At the conclusion of the hearings, just six states’ worth of verified election paperwork from the Independent National Election Commission (INEC) were submitted by Obi and his party.
Election results from polling units, mostly Forms EC8A, were permitted as exhibits to be used to prove their alleged election riggings and other irregularities.
After being put forward by Chief Emeka Okpoko SAN, who represented Obi and the Labour Party, the documents were accepted as exhibits by the court’s presiding justice, Haruna Simon Tsammani.
In the meantime, Kemi Pinhero SAN, who was acting for INEC, issued the documents and gave them their official seal of authenticity before suddenly announcing that it would contest their admittance.
Adebayo Adelodun SAN, who represents President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his Vice, Kashim Shetima, as the second and third respondents in the case contesting their designation as election winners, also intimated that he would be opposed to the electoral papers’ acceptance.
In the same vein, the All Progressives Congress, APC, asserted that it will protest the papers through Chief Afolabi Fashanu, SAN.
Forms EC8A were submitted in 15 Local Government Areas of Rivers State, 23 in Benue, 18 in Cross River, 23 in Niger State, 20 in Osun, and 16 in Ekiti, according to a breakdown of the tendered and admitted papers.
At the request of the two petitioners, the Court has scheduled a new hearing for the case for June 2.