Supplementary polls: INEC challenges court order on Bauchi election

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it has
challenged the order of a Federal High Court in Abuja, ordering it to
stop the collation of the governorship election results in Bauchi State.

INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu

Mr Festus Okoye, INEC’s National Commissioner, Information and Voter
Education said the commission has filed a ‘motion on notice`,
challenging the jurisdiction of the court in granting the order.

” The motion has not been taken. Until that motion is taken, the
court order barring us from collating the result of Tafawa Balewa area
subsists,” he said.

Although Okoye said in Abuja, that
the commission has stopped the collation of the governorship result, he
said the collation process would continue in the state assembly
elections in the affected areas.

On Tuesday, a Federal High Court in Abuja barred INEC from resuming
the collation and announcement of governorship election result in
Bauchi.

Justice Inyang Ekwo issued the order following an ex parte
application filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Bauchi
state Governor, Mohammed Abubakar.

“The commission has already taken a decision. The order is from a properly constituted court of law, so we complied.

“We have fully complied with the court order in relation to collation
of the governorship election for Tafawa Balewa local government area,”
he said.

He said the commission would conduct supplementary elections in areas not affected by the order of the Federal High Court.

INEC initially declared the governorship election in Bauchi, along
with the elections in Benue, Plateau, Sokoto, Kano as inconclusive.

It also announced that supplementary elections would take place on 23
March. But in a sudden twist, INEC said it would no longer hold
supplementary elections in the contentious Tafawa Balewa Local
Government, where it said the result of the poll on March 9 was torn by
an armed gang. INEC also said it has appointed a new returning officer
for the council and that collation would resume on Tuesday.

INEC said a fact-finding committee headed by Okoye recommended that
the results of polling units in the council should be upheld and then
cancelled the planned election in the council.

INEC’s volte-face angered the All Progressives Congress candidate and the incumbent governor, Muhammed Abubakar and his party.

There were accusations about denial of fair hearing by the Okoye
committee and that the committee was compromised because Okoye has some
relationship with some PDP leaders, such as Speaker Yakubu Dogara.