LP insists INEC violated Electoral Act by failing to use BVAS
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Labour Party (LP) vice presidential candidate Datti Baba-Ahmed has alleged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) violated the Electoral Act in declaring Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as President-elect.
Baba-Ahmed said the INEC should not have announced the result of the presidential election without rectifying all anomalies pointed out by several bodies and individuals.
“We are here to reiterate that the Electoral Commission is violating the law. This law was read to the Commission. It was shown to the Commission. The Commission said yes, it has seen it and would continue to violate the law until it finished,” he lamented in Kaduna.
He cited Section 4 (64) and Section 65 of the Electoral Act 2022 as parts of the law the INEC breached.
Baba-Ahmed said the Act stipulates that at the completion of voting, the result must be transmitted to the iRev through the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).
“Furthermore, an Electoral Officer must not document the election result without ensuring that the result has been transmitted to the iRev.”
When told INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu explained that doing so was not a must, Baba-Ahmed said it is a law that stands.
“Unless if a person said yes I’ve seen the law but I will not adhere to it.”
__________________________________________________________________
Related articles:
Atiku mulls legal action to retrieve stolen mandate
INEC declares Tinubu presidential election winner amid legal questions
Confusion over failure of Tinubu, Atiku to meet 25% in FCT
__________________________________________________________________
Victory expected in the long run
Baba-Ahmed rejected allegation opposition parties are raising such issues because they did not win the election, saying they see victory in the long run, per Vanguard reporting.
“We saw that we won the election, but they started changing the result of the election before we got anywhere. That was what happened. If we had not won the election, no one would waste his time.”
He reiterated the Electoral Act stipulates it is only what is inputted into the iRev that is considered; not what is recorded manually.
“But they did not input it in the iRev. So with what were they conducting the election?”
Asked why LP’s sudden alliance with the PDP, Baba-Ahmed explained those cheated would always have the same mission to search for justice.
“We’ve been cheated, Nigerians were cheated. That is why we came together. All Nigerians were shortchanged, it’s not only us. We are united because they cheated the whole nation.”
He said if the INEC fails to address their grievances the leaders of the political parties would decide what to do.
He urged Nigerians to be calm and await the truth to prevail.
 violated the Electoral Act in declaring Bola Tinubu as President-elect.){kind=link}