Peter Obi lambasts INEC says commission is biased

Presidential Poll: You’re biased, Peter Obi Lambasts INEC

M. Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s (LP) presidential candidate, has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of bias, insisting that it should maintain neutrality in electoral contests.

Obi, in his response to the Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC, criticised the electoral body for filing a preliminary objection in support of the President-elect and candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Mr. Bola Tinubu.

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He noted that both the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal had previously cautioned INEC not to place itself in a position where it could be accused of favouring one political party over another.

In particular, Obi, who finished third in the February 25 presidential election, recalled the apex court’s ruling in Attorney-General of the Federation v. Abubakar (2007) 10 NWLR (Pto 1041) that the electoral commission must not only embrace neutrality as its guiding principle, but “must always remain fair and focused.”

According to him, “the first respondent, forgetting its role as an electoral official, filed a Notice of Preliminary Objection challenging the petition’s alleged incompetence.”

“The global best practise for electoral officials in national elections is for an electoral body to avoid giving the impression that it has no regard for neutrality in electoral contests between candidates.

“The appellate courts have repeatedly cautioned the first respondent that it must maintain impartiality during election proceedings. However, the first Respondent in this case has remained unchanged.

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“Therefore, it is not only an embarrassment, but also a dereliction of duty on the part of the first respondent when it dons the attire of a candidate in an election it presided over as an election official in order to file a preliminary objection against an election petition as in this instance.

“It is anticipated that INEC will maintain a neutral stance in all litigations in which election participants contest the outcome of the elections and refrain from filing objections to the petition.

“Before or during the Pre-Hearing Session or during the hearing of the petition, the petitioners will urge the Honourable Court to strike and/or dismiss the first respondent’s Notice of Preliminary Objection,” Obi explained.

In addition, he characterised INEC’s preliminary objection to the petition he filed against Tinubu’s declaration as the presidential election winner as “misguided.”

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