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The Independent National Electoral Commission has set aside more than N3 billion to support the outcomes of the elections for the governorship and state assembly held on March 18 and the presidential and national assembly elections held on February 25.
According to The PUNCH, a number of unsuccessful candidates have petitioned the presidential and state election petition tribunals to contest the results of the elections.
Around 100 petitions for elections have already been submitted nationwide by disgruntled candidates and their parties.
Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, Peter Obi of the Labour Party, Solomon Okangbuan of the Action Alliance, and Chichi Ojei of the Allied People’s Movement have all filed petitions calling for the annulment of the presidential election results.
The All Progressives Congress candidate for president, Bola Tinubu, was proclaimed the victor of the presidential election on February 25 by INEC on March 1. Nevertheless, the other five candidates filed petitions to void the election.
Moreover, candidates for the National Assembly who are dissatisfied with the outcomes of the recently finished elections have filed petitions with electoral petition courts in more than 12 states.
States like Edo, Plateau, Ondo, Kwara, Ogun, Bayelsa, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Bauchi, Lagos, and Niger were among those where the petitions had been received.
The All Progressives Congress candidate for president, Bola Tinubu, was proclaimed the victor of the presidential election on February 25 by INEC on March 1. Nevertheless, the other five candidates filed petitions to void the election.
Moreover, candidates for the National Assembly who are dissatisfied with the outcomes of the recently finished elections have filed petitions with electoral petition courts in more than 12 states.
States like Edo, Plateau, Ondo, Kwara, Ogun, Bayelsa, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Bauchi, Lagos, and Niger were among those where the petitions had been received.
The commission budgeted N548.7 million for the same item this year, compared to N337.4 million for legal writing and approval in 2022.
When questioned on Sunday, Rotimi Oyekanmi, the INEC chairman’s chief press secretary, said he had no idea how many lawyers the commission will hire.
However, the commission has been under fire from the PDP and the All Progressives Grand Alliance over the money planned for legal proceedings, claiming INEC needs to be avoided.
Debo Ologunagba, the PDP’s national publicity secretary, asked the media to “rise and protest the wastefulness of INEC” in a phone chat with our correspondent on Sunday.
“Nigerians should question INEC about why they are spending so much money to defend election cases,” he remarked. We have denounced INEC’s management of the general elections in 2023. The media ought to speak out against INEC’s wastefulness.
“How can an institution use an additional N3 billion for legal fees after spending over N 300 billion on BVAS? After the deployment of BVAS, there wasn’t supposed to be a credibility dilemma.
Parallel to this, Mr. Victor Oye, the national chairman of the APGA, raised concern over the enormous sum the commission wanted to spend in defense of the elections it held.
“It is quite alarming. This demonstrates that there will probably be more requests for elections in 2023 than there were in 2019. (election). This enormous sum could have been used for more innovative causes, so it is not a good development.
“There would be no need for this many cases if elections were widely accepted as free, fair, and credible. This necessitates that INEC exercises greater accountability in carrying out its constitutional duties, according to Oye.
Felix Morka, the National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, maintained that INEC’s plan to defend itself against the numerous election petitions and other litigation brought against it was not “exceptional,” however.
Morka insisted that INEC had the right to defend the way the elections were conducted and their outcome while declining to comment on the budget at issue.
I have no knowledge of their financial situation or spending plan for the election petition battle, he declared. But I can state that INEC, the body tasked with organizing elections for Nigeria, is the electoral umpire. This obligation includes participating in or defending any legal action brought about by that decision.
It is their legal obligation to reply to or defend any petition that is filed in opposition to it during the election’s administration. The legislation specifies INEC’s duties and grants the commission authority, which it would use in this situation.
“I don’t see anything unusual about INEC choosing to uphold the results of the election or present its response to the petitions that the parties have filed. We anticipate that, and we believe INEC has every right to respond to those lawsuits filed by candidates or parties.
Julius Abure, the national chairman of the Labour Party, disagreed with the APC’s stance on the matter.
Abure claimed that despite INEC’s N3 billion war chest, which he claimed would soon run out, his party and candidates were not scared.
Abure claimed that despite INEC’s N3 billion war chest, which he claimed would eventually wind up in private pockets, his party and candidates were not scared.
He claims that all of the party’s followers, including presidential candidate Peter Obi, are certain that the court will act properly.
Additionally, he promised that LP would take its quest for justice to the Supreme Court in order to restore its authority.
He said, “We are all Nigerians, and we witnessed how the last elections turned out. We are committed to taking the case all the way to the Supreme Court.
