We’ve Nothing To Hide – INEC Tells LP Legal Team
The Chairman Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu has assured the legal team of the Labour Party (LP) that the commission will provide all requested documents to the party for the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal.
Yakubu said all documents at the commission’s headquarters will be given immediately, adding that he is meeting with the state’s Resident Electoral Commissioners on Monday to discuss how other documents at the state level could also be made available to the party.
He said this while meeting with the legal team of the Labour Party at the INEC headquarters in Abuja on Monday.
He said: “INEC has nothing to hide. Documents available at the HQ will be given immediately.
“We are meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners today and we will discuss how other documents at the state level could also be made available to you speedily.
“The EC8E, the declaration, so many, a total of I think 39 documents, we can easily certify and give you almost immediately.
“As for other documents that you are asking for, they are at the state level. So, we need to work out the schedule so that we know when your team is going to which state and on which date so that we can easily facilitate not just the certification of documents, but also the inspection of these documents that you requested.
“The other one is accreditation data from the back end. This will also be made available to you. Remember that the accreditation data covers over 176,000 polling units.
“We have to print them physically to certify them and give them to you. So the tall and short of what I’m saying is that you will get this document speedily.
“They will also make arrangements and notify our resident electoral commissioners of your intended visit so that these documents will be made available to you, including access to the inspection of any category of materials.
“So I crave your indulgence to suggest that let your team interface with the legal team of the commission immediately. So you work these things out and then we make all the documents available to you.
“But please be assured, the lead counsel, that INEC has nothing to hide. Whatever you are asking for will be made available to you.”
The Labour Party’s Legal Team was at the INEC HQ to discuss modalities for obtaining the documents.
-diplomatic diary
