25%: Obi-Datti Campaign Alleges Attempts to Doctor FCT Results

By Sola Omoniyi, Lagos

As President Bola Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) open their defence at the Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja, the Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Organisation has warned the electoral umpire against tampering with INEC Result Viewing Portal (IREV) to give 25 per cent of the votes in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), and their presidential candidates, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, respectively, closed their cases penultimate Friday.

However, a statement issued by the Obi-Datti Campaign Organisation alleged that INEC was trying to yield to pressure to tinker with the results of some states, including the FCT to enable the ruling APC to be in good standing.

The statement, which was signed by the Head of the Media Office of the campaign organisation, Mr. Diran Onifade, quoted the Campaign Manager of the organisation, Mr. Oseloka H. Obaze as saying in a tweet that intelligence reports showed that INEC was trying to tinker with the declared results of the February 25, 2023, presidential election.

Onifade said: “According to our source, INEC is tampering with the machines used in the election to adjust FCT results to give the APC candidate, the much-needed 25 per cent, which he did not get as per the initial INEC declaration and for which he is being challenged at the Presidential election tribunal.”

The PDP and the LP, as well as their candidates, have since closed their case against Tinubu and the APC, while the ruling party, its candidate, and the electoral umpire will open their defence tomorrow.

Before the commencement of the hearing, the two political parties and their candidates had disclosed that they had lined up 150 witnesses for their cases.

While Atiku and PDP said they would line up 100 witnesses to give evidence in support of their joint petitions challenging the outcome of the election, Obi and LP told the court that they would call 50 witnesses.

However, while closing their cases on June 21, the two political parties and their candidates ended up presenting 40 witnesses in total.

Atiku and PDP called 27 witnesses, while Obi and LP called 13.