BORNO GUBER TRIBUNAL: PDP ACCUSES INEC OVER BALLOT PAPERS

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Borno has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of frustrating its forensic experts in having access to election materials.

PDP gubernatorial candidate in the April polls, Mr. Sa'idu Pindar disclosed yesterday that INEC was not cooperating with the party, adding that the commission was frustrating its efforts at the election petition tribunal.

'INEC is frustrating our forensic experts' access to election materials. INEC staff are causing unnecessary delays and messing up the storage of election materials making it extremely difficult and impossible to access or even properly identify polling units,' he alleged.

Pindar said the PDP had deployed forensic experts to scan through ballot papers used during the gubernatorial election, alleging that their efforts were hampered by INEC staff.

The PDP is challenging the results of the April 26 gubernatorial election in nine local governments and declaration of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) candidate, Alhaji Kashim Shettima as the winner. The party alleged that voting did not take place in many places even as it maintained there was multiple thumbprinting in some local government areas. It called for re-assessment of ballot papers and other documents.

But INEC in its reaction dismissed the allegation, insisting the commission did not frustrate PDP forensic experts in any way as claimed. 'We have been doing the PDP job since the election period and despite the security challenges in Borno, we never relented,' the Resident Electoral Commission, Prof. Hamman Tukur Sa'ad said.

Sa'ad noted that the technology used in the recent elections was new. His words: 'What the PDP wants is to carry out investigation on each ballot paper from nine local government areas. This is really a tedious work but we have availed them with all the materials they need and it will take them time to go through all the election materials. We are not in the business of sabotaging anybody because we have nothing to lose by availing our election materials to whoever wants to see.'

Daily Sun gathered reliably that the election tribunal was moved to Abuja in the wake of the worsening security situation in Maiduguri.