Headline

Court Grants INEC Permission to Reconfigure BVAS

Published

2 years ago

March 8, 2023

Eric

The Presidential Election Petition Court sitting at the Court of Appeal in Abuja, on Wednesday, granted the request of the Independent National Electoral Commission to reconfigure the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System it used for the presidential election.

The court, in a unanimous decision by a three-member panel of justices, held that preventing
the electoral umpire from reconfiguring the BVAS would adversely affect the forthcoming governorship and State Assembly elections.

It dismissed objections by the Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, against the request.

According to the court, allowing the objections by Obi and his party, would amount to “tying the hands of the Respondent, INEC”.

Dismissing objections by LP and Obi, the court held that the backup files on the server cannot be lost and that restraining INEC will affect the forthcoming governorship elections.

Justice Joseph Ikyegh who presided over the panel chided the applicants for repeating their request to be allowed to scan and make copies of the electoral materials in INEC’s possession stating that it amounted to an abuse of court process.

It noted that INEC had in an affidavit filed before the court, assured that the accreditation data contained in the BVAS could not be tampered with or lost.

It further stated that neither Obi nor LP filed a counter affidavit to challenge the argument in INEC’s affidavit.

The court, however ordered INEC to allow the Applicants to inspect and carry out digital forensic examination of all the electoral materials used in the conduct of the elections, as well as to avail them the Certified True Copy, of result of the physical inspection of the BVAS.

The PUNCH reports that INEC had assured that information in BVAS used for February 25 presidential poll is intact.

The electoral commission lead counsel, Tanimu Inuwa, gave the assurance on Tuesday at the Court of Appeal in Abuja, while opposing an application filed by the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, on BVAS deployed in the presidential poll.

Opposing the application, Inuwa argued it would delay the conduct of governorship and houses of assembly elections scheduled for Saturday.

Earlier, Obi, lead counsel, Dr Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, had argued that the essence of the application was to enable the legal team to extract data embedded in the BVAS, “which represent the actual results from polling units.”

Obi’s lawyers also applied to obtain the certified true copy of all the data in the BVAS.

The Punch

Headline

Tinubu Mourns Demise of Former President Buhari, Summons Emergency FEC Meeting

Published

1 day ago

July 14, 2025

Eric

President Bola Tinubu has received with profound sorrow and a heavy heart, news of the passing of his predecessor in office, Muhammadu Buhari.

Buhari died on Sunday in a London hospital after an undisclosed illness.

In a tribute message he personally signed, President Tinubu said Buhari was to the very core, a patriot, a soldier, a statesman.

“He served Nigeria with unwavering dedication, first as a military leader from January 1984 to August 1985, and later as a democratically elected President from 2015 to 2023. Duty, honour, and a deep commitment to the unity and progress of our nation defined his life.

“He stood firm through the most turbulent times, leading with quiet strength, profound integrity, and an unshakable belief in Nigeria’s potential. He championed discipline in public service, confronted corruption head-on, and placed the country above personal interest at every turn.

“In this moment of national mourning, I extend my deepest condolences to his beloved wife, Aisha, with whom I have been in constant touch, his children, the entire Buhari family, and all who knew and loved him.

“I also extend my condolences to the government and people of Katsina State, most especially the people and traditional leaders of Daura Emirate.

“We honour his service. We reflect on his legacy. And we pray for the peaceful repose of his soul,” Tinubu’s statement read in part.

As a mark of respect to the former Nigerian leader, Tinubu directed that all national flags fly at half-staff across the country for seven days from today.

He said that he has also summoned an emergency Federal Executive Council (FEC) session on Tuesday, dedicated to Buhari’s honour.

Tinubu added that the Federal government will accord President Buhari full state honours befitting his towering contributions to our country.

“May Allah forgive his shortcomings and grant him Al-Jannah Firdaus.

“And may his life continue to inspire generations of Nigerians to serve with courage, conviction, and selflessness,” the statement added.

Headline

Former President Muhammadu Buhari is Dead

Published

2 days ago

July 13, 2025

Eric

President Muhammdu Buhari is dead.

His former aide, Bashir Ahmad announced the passing of the former president on X.

Headline

Akpabio Relieves Natasha of Committee Chairmanship Position, Appoints Akwa Ibom Senator As Replacement

Published

5 days ago

July 10, 2025

Eric

Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has replaced suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, as the Chairman, Senate Committee on Diaspora/Non-Governmental Organisations.

In her place, Akpabio named Senator Bassey Aniekun Etim (Akwa Ibom -East).

The Senate President, who made the announcement on the floor in Abuja on Thursday, did not give any reasons.

The committee position had remained vacant since March when the Senate suspended the Kogi-Central Senatorial District lawmaker for six months for flouting the Senate’s rule on the seating arrangement and seat allocation.

The suspended lawmaker, at a point, chaired the Senate Committee on Local Content before Akpabio reassigned her to the Committee on Diaspora/NGO, shortly before she ran into trouble with the Senate over her conduct on seat allocation.