Atiku vs Buhari: Peter Obi Sends ‘Strong Message’ To INEC Over Election Server

The Vice Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Nigeria’s main opposition party, in the 2019 election, Peter Obi, has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Nigeria’s electoral umpire, to provide the server used for the general elections.

Naija News reports that Obi made this statement at a victory thanksgiving service in Atani, Anambra state, southeast Nigeria, in honour of Sen. Princess Stella Odua; Hon. Chukwuka Onyema and winners of Anambra state House of Assembly, Hon. Noble Igwe and Hon. Somto Udeze, Ogbaru 1 and Ogbaru 11 constituencies, respectively.

The former Anambra state governor expressed optimism over his party’s victory at the tribunal, insisting that PDP would not give up as the court case was still in progress.

This online news platform recalls that PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, had alleged that results from INEC server showed that he won the election, a claim which the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nigeria’s ruling party condemned strongly.

In response, INEC dismissed Abuabakar’s claim, saying the results he paraded were fabricated.

To back up his claim, the PDP presidential candidate said he was willing to engage experts from Microsoft, IBM, and Oracle to verify his claim.

The former Vice President and the PDP had said INEC pulled down the results from its server and replaced it with a doctored one to favour President Muhammadu Buhari.

This online news platform recalls that the commission had said figures from the 36 states and federal capital territory (FCT) gave Buhari 15,191,847 votes, while Atiku came second with 11,262,978 votes.

Challenging the results at the election tribunal in his 139-page petition, Abubakar said the results from INEC server showed he polled 18,356,732 votes to defeat Buhari who had 16,741,430 votes.

Weeks after Abubakar’s claims, 13 INEC presiding officers, admitted transmitting results of the February 23 presidential election to the server of the commission.

Pressing further on their claims, the PDP and Abubakar at the resumption of the tribunal on Thursday, June 13, prayed the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal to order INEC to grant them permission to inspect the commission’s saver.

However, in response, Yunus Ustaz Usman (SAN), the Counsel to INEC, urged the Presidential Elections Petitions Tribunal to strike out the application of the PDP and Abubakar, adding that: “They are asking us to bring something we don’t have.”

In the same vein, Wole Olanipekun (SAN), the counsel to President Muhammadu Buhari and that of APC, Lateef Fagnemi (SAN), asked the court to dismiss the application for failing to disclose the existence of the server.

However, speaking on the issue, Obi stressed that the commission must provide the server because the commission made use of it during the elections.

“INEC must provide the server they used for the election because they know they used the server for the election and must provide it,” Obi said.