…says electoral umpire is frustrating his client’s election petition

From George Onyejiuwa, Owerri

The counsel to Senator Athan Achonu, governorship candidate of the Labour party ( LP) in 11 November governorship polls, Okwudimi Anozie has said that the Independent National Electoral commission ( INEC ) has denied forensic experts enaged by his client to examine the BVAS machines used in the conduct of the Imo state governorship polls, in contravention to the court order compelling the electoral body to grant his client access to the certified true copies of materials used in the conduct of the polls.

He also said that the INEC did not allow them to make copies of the counted materials .

Mr Anozie who disclosed this to journalists at the headquarters of the Imo state independent National Electoral commission in Owerri, the Imo state on Friday noted that the electoral umpire is deliberately frustrating the party from inspecting the electoral materials used in the conduct of the Imo state governorship polls which will assist his client in filing his petition before the Governorship Electoral Tribunal.

He also said of the 5, 000 BVAS machines used in the conduct of the elections that only 65 of BVAS machines were made avaliable.

According to him , ” We have obtained a court order to come and inspect all electoral materials including the BVAS machines. We were here on Monday and nothing happened. It is was the same on Tuesday but it was only on Thursday that INEC brought only 65 BVAS machines out of 4,700 , it suppose to be 5,000 including the back up BVAS used for the election . We have been here since 9 am this morning.

Continuing, contrary to the court order that our forensic experts be granted access to the BVAS machines for them to carry out forensic analysis and to get what they want. But the INEC would not allow them rather the INEC are the one reading out accredition figures from the BVAS which they opened up themselves . They did not allow us to make copies of the counted materials and the certified true copies. They refused our forensic experts to ascertain when the accreditation was done, the time and place . The court order is that we should be allowed to do the inspection without obstruction which should be every day expect on Sunday.”

Anozie said as a result of the set backs they are experiencing from the Independent National Electoral commission that they will head back to the court since the INEC has chosen to disobey the court order .

” Given the set back we are experiencing from the Independent National Electoral commission who has chosen to disobey the court order we will head back to the court because without accessing the materials which we need to file our petition and the most critical is the BVAS machines. ”