The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, will commence
defence of President Muhammadu Buhari’s victory in the 2019 presidential
election today, Monday.
INEC will open its defence in the petition filed by the Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar,
against the conduct of the February 23, 2019, election.
The electoral umpire declared Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the winner.
INEC will in the next six days defend the allegations contained in
PDP and Atiku’s petition where 62 witnesses gave evidence against the
credibility of the election.
Atiku and PDP had closed their case at the Justice Mohammed Garba led five-man Presidential Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja.
The tribunal had adjourned till July 29 for the first respondent, INEC, to open its defence.
One of the major issues that will dominate the tribunal session is
the controversy generated by the existence and usage of a server by
INEC.
Atiku and PDP are contending that the result of the election was
downloaded into INEC server, while both the INEC, Buhari and APC
vehemently denied the claim.