Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), says it will spend over N3 billion on post-elections litigations.
A number of candidates who lost in the elections have filed petitions at the presidential and state election petition tribunals to challenge the outcome of the polls, Punch reports, adding over 100 election petitions have been filed by aggrieved candidates and their parties across the country so far.
Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidates of Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar (Party) alongside Labour Party’s Peter Obi among others have also filed petitions for the nullification of the presidential election results.
INEC had on March 1 declared the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, as the winner of the February 25 presidential poll, but the five candidates disagreed with the outcome, calling the electoral umpire to nullify the election.
Similarly, elections tribunals in 12 states had been petitioned by aggrieved candidates who lost their bids. The states include: Edo, Plateau, Ondo, Kwara, Ogun, Bayelsa, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Bauchi, Lagos and Niger states.
Some aggrieved candidates had protested in Ogun and Nasarawa states, vowing to challenge the results of the elections in court.
INEC HANDLING OVER 600 CASES ACROSS THE FEDERATION
Last November, INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu revealed that the commission was handling over 600 cases in several courts across the federation.
Speaking at a capacity-building workshop for over 300 judges that would handle election disputes, he disclosed that the cases pending against INEC relate to the conduct of primaries by political parties.
However, a document obtained yesterday shows that INEC earmarked N3 billion for prosecution of election-related cases.
“Litigation and prosecution: N2,104,965,000 (2022) and #3,087,195,425 (2023). Total, N5,192,160,425,” the document reads in part.
