INEC Staff Testifies For Atiku: ‘We Transmitted Results Electronically’

A registration technician and staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has testified for Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on the electronic transmission of results of the 2019 presidential election.

Peter Uzioma Obi, who appeared as Atiku and PDP’s second witness before the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal on Monday, had on April 26 taken his oath as PDP’s witness in the case.

Atiku, who lost after INEC declared President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as winner of the poll, had in his petition before the tribunal claimed to have obtained the supposed original results of the election from INEC’s server and which he claimed contradicts what was declared.

While fielding questions from INEC’s lawyer, Yunus Usman (SAN), at today’s hearing, Obi countered the defence claim that he was not supposed to transmit results in the poll.

Obi, who served as Registration Area Technician (RATECH) at a ward level in Rivers State during the 2019 elections, claimed INEC trained him and others to transmit results of the election.

“You are not supposed to transmit results because you are not a presiding officer,” INEC’s counsel, Usman had asked.

Obi responded: “You are wrong sir. INEC trained us to transmit results. I was not a presiding officer. I was not a polling agent. I was a registration area technician appointed by INEC. I was trained by INEC.”

President Buhari’s lawyer, Wole Olanipekun, had posed a question to him as to if he didn’t follow the rules contained in INEC’s guidelines for the election.

Obi said he wasn’t aware of any guidelines except for a booklet that was given to him and others who served as RATECH.

“I was a RATECH in charge of the use of card reader,” he said.

Obi also faulted APC’s lawyer, Lateef Fagbemi’s submission that it was the duty of the Presiding Officer “to do accreditation, verification authentication, and collation at the Poling Units.”

He said, “You are not entirely correct sir, because we were told at the training that the Assistant Polling Officer 1, was in charge of accreditation.”

Fielding more questions, he said, “I did not serve as APO1 and I did not serve as the Presiding Officer.”

He said he did not act on his own, contrary to Fagbemi’s suggestion: “I have a letter to show that I was shortlisted.”