Tribunal Verdict: ‘INEC Came Out Of 2023 Election As Damaged Goods’ – Osinbajo’s Aide

Nigerian journalist, Laolu Akande, a media aide to former Nigerian Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, has faulted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) following the verdict of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT), affirming the victory of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as winner of the 2023 election.

Naija News recall that Justice Haruna Tsammani-led panel ruled that the sole technological requirement mandated for use by the INEC during elections is the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), and the electoral body has the power to decide the mode of results transmission, either manually or electronically.

While answering questions on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’ programme on Friday, Akande said the failure of INEC to electronically transmit the results of the 2023 presidential and National Assembly elections has broken the trust of Nigerians.

According to Akande, INEC failed to upload polling unit results on its Result Viewing Portal despite the promise made to Nigerians at home and abroad.

He said, “It is important to establish something we cannot basically run away from. INEC came out of this election as damaged goods.

“There is no doubt about that. INEC itself set up a standard. INEC determined the guidelines. INEC committed to the people of Nigeria that this is how we are going to declare the result of this election.

“In fact, the Chairman of INEC went abroad and said, ‘What we are going to do is that these results, when we get it, we will put it on IReV in real-time’.”