BVAS Inspection: Peter Obi To Appear In Court Today, Sends Important Message To Supporters

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, on Wednesday pledged to respect the sanity of the court and not hold a rally as he will be appearing  in court over the failure of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to allow the party inspect materials used during the 25th of February polls.

The former Anambra State governor in a Twitter post also noted that he will not be able to commerce the various Labour Party, (LP) governorship campaigns across the country, saying that he wants to “give more attention to our mission of retrieving our mandate.”

Recall that INEC had filed a countersuit seeking to reconfigure the BVAS machines ahead of the 11th of March gubernatorial polls.

However, Obi and LP, through their team of lawyers led by Dr Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, said the essence of the application was to enable them to extract data embedded in the BVAS, “which represent the actual results from Polling Units”.

The court of appeal, led by Justice Joseph Ikyegh, will deliver a ruling on the application today.

He tweeted: “As we go about seeking redress for our stolen mandate, I plead with OBIdients to respect the sanctity of the Court premises and give our legal team the space and peaceful environment to carry out their duties.

“The Court Premises is not and should not be turned into a rally ground. I urge the Obidients to go about their businesses peacefully.”

He further urged supporters to vote for the Labour Party ahead of the elections on Saturday, “I am supposed to commence our whistle-stop campaign for our various Labour Party Governorship and State Assembly Candidates today. Initially, my trip was to take me to Nasarawa, Lagos, Enugu, Abia, Delta, Edo, Rivers, Plateau, Borno, etc.

“However, following INEC’s refusal to allow our party to inspect the materials (including BVAS) from the 25th February presidential elections, I am personally heading to the Court today with our lawyers.”

“As we pursue due process and defer to the rule of law, I urge all the OBIdients in the various states to continue campaigning for our candidates, namely, Gbadebo Rhodes Vivour in Lagos, Chijoke Edeoga in Enugu, Patrick Dakum in Plateau, Alex Otti in Abia, Ken Pela in Delta, Ibrahim Mshelia in Borno, to name just a few.

“It is also imperative that Obidients vote for candidates with Competence, Character, Capacity, and Compassion. I remain committed and will give more attention to our mission of retrieving our mandate. A new Nigeria is possible,” he added.