Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and his political celebration on Friday introduced Senator Dino Melaye, the Kogi State governorship candidate of the celebration, as their twenty second witness on the Presidential Election Petition Court.
The witness who can also be a former Kogi West Senator, was PDP’s National Collation Officer in the course of the February 25 Presidential Election, therefore, he’s a particular witness.
Abubakar Mahmoud, lawyer for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), described Melaye as a well-liked and entertaining Nigerian, an announcement which the witness responded to, saying that he was a politician however not an entertainer.
Melaye advised the court docket that not all of the PDP brokers signed the election outcome sheets, insisting that was an motion carried out in protest including that the outcomes introduced by the state returning officers have been at variance with what occurred within the states.
When the INEC’s lawyer requested Melaye if he was conscious that his witness assertion was much like these of different witnesses, he requested to see a duplicate of such assertion, however the INEC lawyer failed to offer one.
The INEC lawyer, in rounding off his cross-examination, said that Melaye stormed out of the National Collation Centre in the course of the announcement of outcomes, and so did not witness the completion of the method, however Melaye stated he left in protest of the “fraudulent activity” that was going down.
Tinubu’s lawyer, Akin Olujimi, throughout cross-examination requested Melaye whether or not failure to transmit outcomes unto the IReV portal will change the outcome recorded on Form EC8A, the witness, after a little bit of hesitation and by the intervention of the Court, stated “No”.
The witness emphasised that the outcome declared by INEC was unsuitable, nevertheless, he concedes that he did not embrace as a part of his witness assertion the choice, appropriate end result of the election.
He stated that he famous the inconsistencies, and cancellations within the outcomes uploaded unto the IReV portal, including these constituted causes brokers refused to signal outcome sheets.
According to him, digital transmission of outcomes is what validates the Electoral Act, 2022, including that that’s the essential distinction meant to remodel the nation’s electoral course of.
During cross-examination by lawyer for the All Progressives Congress (APC), Afolabi Fashanu, Melaye affirmed that his written assertion on oath clearly states the variety of votes wrongly allotted to President Bola Tinubu.
However, on votes deducted in favour of the APC Presidential candidate, he stated that was famous in phrases and never figures.
When requested why he did not point out “live feeds” in his witness assertion, Melaye established that he had certification in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and that “all videos are live, depends on when you play them”.
