* As APC, Gov Monday Okpebholo kicks

The Edo State Governorship election tribunal has taken custody of 148 Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines used for the conduct of the September 21 governorship election in 133 pulling units tendered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The Machines which were contained in small boxes where produced before the court by a subpoenaed witness, Anthony Itodo, a senior technical officer in the ICT department of INEC, were later placed in the custody of the court by counsel to the petitioners, Robert Emukpoerua (SAN).

Presenting the electoral devices before the court, the witness informed the court that he was in court in honour of the subpoena issued to him to produce the BVAS.

He told the court that he had brought a total number of 148 BVAS machines that were used in 133 pulling units in Edo State for the September 21 governorship election.

However, his statement elicited heated arguments from counsel to the petitioners and the respondents, as to the actual number of the BVAS machines that were contained in the box.

While the petitioners had informed the court that the witness had earlier informed them that the number of the BVAS machines was 151 and not 148, counsel to the respondents on the other hand insisted that the court should record the number given by the witness had said in open court.

To resolve the issue, counsel to the petitioners urged the court to direct the witness to open the boxes and count the total number of the BVAS machines.

“My Lords, the subpoenaed INEC staff repeatedly told us there were 151 BVAS machines, and now he says it is 148. I appeal to the court to have the secretary count the BVAS devices.”

While demanding that the BVAS devices be removed from their boxes. Emukpoerua stated, “We did not request BVAS machines with boxes; we requested only the BVAS devices. Let him bring out the BVAS machines and take away the boxes. My subpoena is for BVAS machines, not boxes, and I have not seen the BVAS machines.”

Meanwhile, counsel for Governor Monday Okpebholo and the APC, Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN) and Emmanuel Ukala (SAN), respectively, objected to the submissions insisting that going by the nature and content of the subpoena issued to the witness, he cannot proceed beyond the production of the BVAS machines.

They contended that the INEC staff was not a sworn witness and was only required to tender the documents and leave. They further argued that there was no need to exaggerate the BVAS issue.

INEC counsel, Kanu Agabi, clarified the matter by confirming to the Tribunal that “there are 151 BVAS units, but only 148 were requested, and only 148 relate to the election.”

Regardless, the tribunal decided in favour of the respondents by holding that it would record 148 as the total of BVAS machines before the court.

Meanwhile, before the close of proceedings on Thursday, the BVAS machines were taken from the boxes and placed before the court at the instance of the petitioners counsel.

The production of the BVAS machines came after the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) secured a subpoena, following the commission’s initial refusal to release the machines voluntarily.

The PDP has consistently argued that the election was marred by over-voting, claiming that results announced by INEC exceeded the number of accredited voters in multiple locations.

However, the submission of BVAS machines marks a pivotal moment in the petition, as the devices serve as the primary source of accreditation data.

Earlier in the day, the tribunal admitted certified true copies (CTCs) of exhibits submitted by the PDP, which allegedly highlight inconsistencies between polling unit figures and the final announced results.

Specifically, a PDP witness from Akoko Edo, Eseigbe Victor, a 43 year-old farmer who served as the ward 9 collation agent, testified that while the election process in the 13 polling units within the ward appeared proper, the results collated at the ward level differed from those uploaded on INEC’s Result Viewing Portal (IREV).

But when confronted under cross-examination by counsel to the respondents, he admitted that the governorship election at the ward level was free and fair.

He however, told the tribunal he did not sign Form EC8B for Ward 9 in Akoko-Edo.

When asked to provide evidence of his participation in the election process, he responded: “As the ward agent for Ward 9, Akoko-Edo, I have my tag as the ward chairman, and when the election was going on, I noticed the incorrect collation, which is why I did not sign it.”

He stated that there are 36 polling units in Ward 9 and that he received the unit results from the polling unit agents.

He added, “My evidence is based on those documents I received from my agents.” He affirmed receiving reports from his polling unit agents, which he said were oral. However, he admitted that he did not incorporate the oral reports into the documents. The reports were signed by the agents.

Another witness, Uyigun Imasuen, a collation agent from Oredo Local Government provided evidence suggesting that INEC’s declared results for Ward 1 did not match polling unit records or the data uploaded on IREV.

The witness noted that there were 72 polling units in total in Ward 1 of Oredo LGA. He confirmed that he was the party agent for all units and that he received result sheets from party agents of the units.

Under cross-examination, Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), counsel for one of the respondents, argued that the witness did not sign the statement as he was not in Benin when the election was held.

The witness refuted this claim, stating: “I was fully in Benin. My family is in Benin, and I signed the statement on September 11.”

Ikpeazu then requested a plain sheet for the witness to sign his signature five times to prove to the court that he had signed the document. Upon signing, Mozia objected to admitting the witness’s signature on the plain sheet, stating that the reasons for the objection would be reserved.

Notwithstanding, the court admitted the signed sheet as evidence.

The Peoples Democratic Party and its governorship candidate, Asuerime Ighodalo, who contested the September 21, 2024, gubernatorial election in the state, had dragged INEC, Governor Monday Okpebholo, and the All Progressives Congress before the Tribunal to challenge the election results.

Hearing continues today at the tribunal.

Daily Sun

A former Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, has fired back at the Special Adviser to the President on Public Communication, Daniel Bwala, and the National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Senator Ajibola Basiru, over a ministerial appointment.

Bwala had, in a recent post on his verified X handle, accused El-Rufai of planning to unseat the government of President Bola Tinubu.

On the other hand, Basiru, while featuring on TVC on Wednesday, said it wasn’t the birthright of El-Rufai to be made a minister.

Responding in a post on his verified X handle on Thursday, El-Rufai stated that he had made it clear to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu that he was not interested in any position in his future government.

He stressed that the pathetic manner in which those he referred to as “latter-day converts” to the Tinubu government made an issue of something he never wanted in the first place was a reflection of the level of their moral flexibility.

El-Rufai added that if he had remained in the Tinubu government, he would say or do the same regarding the tragedy within a party he helped to found and the government that emerged from it—first in private sessions with those concerned, and then publicly if no remedial actions were taken.

He said: “Good morning, @BwalaDaniel. I was a cabinet minister 22 years ago, and I was clear to Asiwaju that I was not interested in any position in his future government.

“The pathetic manner in which all of you latter-day converts to the Tinubu government make an issue of something that I never wanted in the first place is perhaps a reflection of the level of your moral flexibility.

“If I had remained in the Tinubu government, I would say or do the same regarding the tragedy within a party I helped to found and the government that emerged from it—first in private sessions with those concerned, and then publicly if no remedial actions were taken. Go and check my public service record from 1998.

“I am only responding to you because I still think you are a decent person who may need a job, and not in the class of Wendell Simlin and that Kaduna pretender whom our voters retired in 2019—these clowns are political mercenaries who receive humongous monthly stipends from the security vote to be the first to jump on X and other platforms to defend everything the Asiwaju government does or fails to do, no matter how indefensible it may be.

“Enjoy your Special Adviser position, my brother, but remember that allegiance to God and country comes first in the human scale of accountability, before any person or authority.” – @elrufai

The exchange of words between former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai and the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communications, Daniel Bwala, over the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the current administration has continued.

Bwala expressed his respect and admiration for El-Rufai’s brilliance, advising the former governor to “come home because he has toiled all nights.”

In a post on his X handle on Thursday, Bwala, a new convert to the APC, said his concern over El-Rufai’s statements and actions is that they are not borne out of patriotism but rather a need for vengeance.

“Still my senior brother @elrufai, I am sure you don’t need anyone to tell you about my respect and admiration for you, not just for your brilliance, but also as one of the brightest we have from the northern extraction. I am not stating it for the first time today, and you know that.

“My worry, however, is the motive behind your statements and actions; they are not borne out of patriotism but a need for vengeance. The opposition sees that singular element of vengeance as a veritable tool for your recruitment.

“With respect, I am not a latter-day Asiwaju supporter. We both played our roles in his emergence as the candidate of the party ahead of the 2023 elections. And before then, whilst you were from the CPC extraction of the APC, I was from the ACN, which explains why I worked with Comrade Oshiomhole when he chaired the party, amongst other things, to protect the interest of Asiwaju, whom at the time you people vowed to retire from politics.

“I still think you don’t need all these melodramatic activities or a vengeance mission. Come back and resolve whatever you think are your grievances like the dignified man that you are.

“Our party, APC, as of today remains the only organized party with identifiable structures across the country. So if you are looking for any symbol of democracy, it is still in your party.

“Please, senior, come home; you have toiled all nights.”