Nigeria General Election: INEC Budgets N3bn, Hires Nine SANs To Defend Results

Following several reservations, by some political party candidates, aggrieved ones including Mr. Peter Obi of the Labour Party, and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party have approached the tribunal for redress, alleging a gross compromise on the processes surrounding the February 25th, 2023 Presidential election in Nigeria by the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC.

In readiness to defend the election, the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC appointed no fewer than nine Senior Advocates of Nigeria.

According to City Lawyer, the team is to be led by former Nigerian Bar Association President, Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN). Other members of the team are Stephen Adehi (SAN), Oluwakemi Pinheiro (SAN), Miannaya Essien (SAN), and Abdullahi Aliyu (SAN).

It was gathered from a member of the legal team that four SANs who are staff members of INEC’s legal department are also members of the team alongside Garba Hassan, Musa Attah, and Patricia Obi.

INEC budgeted over N3bn to defend the results of the February 25 presidential and national assembly elections and the March 18 governorship and state assembly polls.

According to the PUNCH, several candidates who lost in the elections have filed petitions at the presidential and state election petition tribunals to challenge the outcome of the polls.

So far, over 100 election petitions have been filed by aggrieved candidates and their parties across the country.

The presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar; the Labour Party, Peter Obi; the Action Alliance, Solomon Okangbuan; Allied Peoples Movement, Chichi Ojei, have also filed petitions for the nullification of the presidential election results.

It would be recalled that the commission had on March 1, 2023, declared Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, as the winner of the February 25 presidential election.