In the most recent general election, Mr. Peter Obi, a candidate for president of the Labour Party (LP), criticized the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for rejecting his appeal to unseat Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
In his response to INEC’s response to his case at the Court of Appeal in Abuja, Obi noted that the electoral umpire’s move was not only unjustified but also embarrassing for the nation.
According to the petition, INEC should “avoid creating the impression that it has no respect for neutrality in an electoral contest between candidates” in order to comply with international best practices for electoral umpires in national elections.
Obi and his party, who are the joint petitioners, cited a number of rulings that had consistently warned INEC to maintain its objectivity during the electoral process.
“The First Respondent hereunder, however, has remained resistant to reform. Therefore, when the First Respondent dresses up as a candidate in an election it held as an umpire to make preliminary objection against an Election Petition as in this case, it is not only embarrassing but also a betrayal of the duties of the First Respondent, the petitioners claimed.
The petitioners argue that INEC must refrain from filing objections to the petition and maintain impartiality in all legal proceedings when election participants are contesting the results of the polls.
However, the petitioners refute the claim that the facts supporting the grounds on which the petition is founded are ambiguous and imprecise in their response to the preliminary objection dated April 25.
The claim made by the First Respondent that the reliefs requested in the Petition are not admissible is untrue and made in blatant disregard of the Petition’s precise and succinct pleadings.
“It is wishful thinking to claim that the allegation in paragraph 20(ii) of the Petition is flawed and does not disclose a cause of action in the first respondent’s Notice of Preliminary Objection. The specific instances of non-compliance that were alleged and that significantly impacted the election’s outcome are pled in paragraphs 33 to 78 of the petition.
The Petitioners additionally assert that Reliefs 3, 5(i), and 5(ii) of the Petition are admissible and are abundantly supported by the specifics of the alleged non-compliance in the Petition.In the most recent general election, Mr. Peter Obi, a candidate for president of the Labour Party (LP), criticized the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for rejecting his appeal to unseat Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
In his response to INEC’s response to his case at the Court of Appeal in Abuja, Obi noted that the electoral umpire’s move was not only unjustified but also embarrassing for the nation.
According to the petition, INEC should “avoid creating the impression that it has no respect for neutrality in an electoral contest between candidates” in order to comply with international best practices for electoral umpires in national elections.
Obi and his party, who are the joint petitioners, cited a number of rulings that had consistently warned INEC to maintain its objectivity during the electoral process.
“The First Respondent hereunder, however, has remained resistant to reform. Therefore, when the First Respondent dresses up as a candidate in an election it held as an umpire to make preliminary objection against an Election Petition as in this case, it is not only embarrassing but also a betrayal of the duties of the First Respondent, the petitioners claimed.
It is the case of the petitioners that INEC must maintain neutrality in all litigations where participants in elections are challenging the outcome of the elections and not indulge in filling objections to the Petition.
