Posted by By Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa on
There was mild drama Thursday at the Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Yenagoa when an electoral officer of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mr. Uzoma Diala, said an ‘order' made him and other ad-hoc staff of the commission to collate and announce the results of the governorship election
• Says other party agents were not at the collation
There was mild drama Thursday at the Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Yenagoa when an electoral officer of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mr. Uzoma Diala, said an ‘order' made him and other ad-hoc staff of the commission to collate and announce the results of the governorship election in Southern Ijaw local government council without the signatures of agents of the opposition party.
Diala while under cross examination as a witness of INEC in the petition filed by the Action Congress governorship candidate, Prince Ebitimi Amagbare, explained that it was difficult to get the accredited agents of the AC and others because many of the opposition party agents were not present during the collation of results and the subsequent signing of declared results in the council under his supervision.
He further disclosed that he could not identify the letter written by PDP to INEC before the election on the number of party agents and that as there was no similar letter from the AC, they went ahead with the collation and announcement of results, adding: 'the instruction we had was that irrespective of party agents, results should be announced.
Under cross-examination from the lead counsel of AC, Mr. Femi Atoyebi (SAN), when asked whether the AC agents were present, he said 'no", stressing that many of the opposition party agents refused to sign because their party was losing. He noted, however, that agents of the State Security Service, National Orientation Agency and the Police were present when the results were announced from the form EC8B.
Reminded that, unlike the situation in his Southern Ijaw territory, results in other local governments were signed by opposition party agents even in the face of defeat, Diala maintained that in his council, only PDP signed which means they won.
The interaction between Mr. Atoyebi and Daila went thus;
Atoyebi: 'It is part of your duty to know party agents present during results collation and announcement. If yes were the agents up to 15?
Witness: 'No"
Atoyebi: 'Were they up to 10?
Witness: 'I don't know"
Atoyebi: 'Why is it that none of the opposition parties countersigned the result?
Witness: 'Sometimes when their party is losing they hiss and walk away and don't sign the result.
Atoyebi: 'We have seen results tendered from your council. It said PDP won?
Witness: 'Yes
Atoyebi: 'What of other local governments? Are you aware?
Witnesss: 'PDP won by implication
Atoyebi: 'But other witnesses that appeared before this tribunal tendered results of their councils signed by some opposition party agents and their party lost why only your council?
Witness: 'Well I don't know but in Southern Ijaw, PDP signed.