Two ad-hoc staff members of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) denied participating in the alleged manipulation of results of the 2023 presidential election.
Alheri Ayuba and Sadiya Haruna testified before the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) in Abuja as witnesses in the petition of the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, filed to challenge the outcome of the presidential election.
Ayuba served as a Presiding Officer in Garki, Abuja, during the presidential election and encountered difficulties in electronically transmitting the results as she was trained to do by the Commission.
Haruna, who served as Presiding Officer at the City Centre, by Green Garden, FCT, Abuja, also experienced a malfunction of the BVAS device at her polling unit, making it impossible for her to transmit the results of the election. Both witnesses denied being induced to rig the election.
The Respondents- INEC, President Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, and the All Progressives Congress (APC)- opposed the admissibility of statements of the witnesses.
The hearing on the petition was adjourned until next Tuesday.
