INEC Commits N3 Billion To Electoral Case Defense

The Independent National Electoral Commission has set aside more than N3 billion to support the outcomes of the elections for the governorship and state assembly held on March 18 and the presidential and national assembly elections held on February 25.

reports that a number of unsuccessful candidates have petitioned the presidential and state election petition tribunals to contest the results of the elections.

Over 100 petitions for elections have already been submitted nationwide by disgruntled candidates and their parties.

Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, Peter Obi of the Labour Party, Solomon Okangbuan of the Action Alliance, and Chichi Ojei of the Allied People’s Movement have all filed petitions calling for the annulment of the presidential election results.

INEC had on March 1 declared the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, as the winner of the February 25 presidential election, but the five candidates filed petitions seeking the nullification of the poll.

Also, election petition tribunals in over 12 states have equally received petitions from National Assembly candidates who are not satisfied with the results of the just concluded elections.

The states where the petitions had been received included Edo, Plateau, Ondo, Kwara, Ogun, Bayelsa, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Bauchi, Lagos and Niger states.

Some aggrieved candidates had protested in Ogun and Nasarawa states, vowing to challenge the results of the elections in court.

Last November, the INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu lamented that the commission was handling over 600 cases in several courts across the federation.

Speaking at a capacity-building workshop for over 300 judges that would handle election disputes, he revealed that the cases pending against the electoral body relate to the conduct of primaries by political parties.

However, INEC in its Election Project Plan for the 2023 general election earmarked N3b for the prosecution of election-related cases.

The document which was obtained on Sunday read, in part, “Litigation and prosecution: N2,104,965,000 (2022) and #3,087,195,425 (2023). Total, N5,192,160,425.’’