The Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the February 25 presidential election, Mr Peter Gregory Obi and his party on Thrusday told the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) in Abuja that they would challenge the election results in only 18 states.
According to the petitioners, it was needless to dissipate energy in the states where they won convincingly and without any dispute.
This is as the Presidential Election Tribunal admitted in evidence scads of electoral documents from 6 states of the federation which emanated from the February 25 elections.
The documents, which consisted of forms EC8A are polling units results and were tendered by the Labour Party and its presidential candidate in the last election, Peter Obi, in support of their case.
Obi and the LP are challenging the outcome of the election in which Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress was declared as the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The documents, mainly, Forms EC8A , election results from polling units were admitted as exhibits to be used to establish their alleged riggings and other malpractices during the election.
During Thursday’s proceeding, the petitioners, through their legal team led by Awa Kalu SAN, informed the court that they would present the Certified True Copies of the documents as evidence in respect of 18 states of the federation.
But they were only able to present documents from 6 states before their allotted time was over.
Presiding Justice of the Court, Haruna Simon Tsammani admitted the documents as exhibits after they were tendered by Chief Emeka Okpoko SAN who represented Obi and the Labour Party.
Meanwhile, INEC, represented by Kemi Pinhero SAN, examined the documents and certified them as genuine but strangely announced objection to the admission of the documents.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his Vice, Kashim Shetima, who are 2nd and 3rd respondents and represented by Adebayo Adelodun SAN in the petition challenging their declaration as winners of the election, also hinted to oppose the admissibility of the electoral documents.
Also, the All Progressives Congress, APC, represented by Chief Afolabi Fashanu, SAN, argued that it would raise objections against the documents.
Breakdown of the tendered and admitted documents showed that Forms EC8A were tendered in 15 Local Government Areas of Rivers State, 23 in Benue, 18 in Cross River, 23 in Niger State, 20 in Osun and 16 in Ekiti Local Government Areas.
Further hearing in the petition has been shifted to June 2 by the Court at the instance of the two petitioners.
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