INEC official admits ‘seemingly over-voting’ in Osun poll

The Independent National Electoral Commission’s deputy director of information and communication technology, Abimbola Oladunjoye, claimed on Wednesday that there appeared to have been excessive voting in some polling places during the July 16 Osun state governorship election.Information Guide Nigeria

Under cross-examination by the petitioners’ lead attorney, Mr. Akin Olujinmi (SAN), Oladunjoye, a witness for INEC, the first respondent in the case, was shown her witness statement, which showed that the number of accredited voters in a polling unit in Ede South contradicted the number of accredited voters on the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System report presented by INEC.

The witness stated in her statement that there were 388 registered voters in Ward 4 Unit 7, Ede South, but according to the RBVR, an INEC-supplied BVAS report, there were only 313, indicating that there was 75 votes that appeared to have been cast in excess.

The witness was further pointed by the attorney to paragraph 21.36 of her witness statement, where the accreditation amount was listed as 830 but was actually 793 according to the BVAS report.

Other Top Stories:

• Buhari will campaign for Tinubu, others – Presidency
• Tinubu hails sports minister on chieftaincy title
• 2023: Buhari Reveals His Personal Plan After Leaving Office
• Why Northern APC Governors decide To Support Tinubu – El-Rufai

The accreditation figure for a unit was 402 according to Oladunjoye in paragraph 26.7 of her witness statement, but the BVAS report said that the accreditation value was 263, indicating that 139 votes appeared to have been cast in excess.JAMB portal

Oladunjoye clarified during a second round of questioning by INEC’s counsel, Prof. Paul Ananaba (SAN), that she used the term “seemingly over-voting” because over-voting could not be determined until a comparison was made between the numbers on Form EC8A and the actual data on the BVAS machine used for the election.NYSC portal

She further stated that in accordance with INEC regulations, Form EC8A and the actual BVAS machine are used to record voter accreditation information.

Ananaba concluded its case following the panel’s dismissal of the witness.

Prior to this, the tribunal accepted the 976 BVAS voting machines used for the July 16 governorship election and the Certified True Copies of the BVAS report submitted by INEC as evidence.

Attorney representing Senator Ademola Adeleke, the governor of Osun State, the second respondent in the case, Oyeachi Ikpeazu (SAN), commenced the case and submitted certain Form EC8A series.

Justice Tertse Kume, the tribunal’s chair, decided that BVAS machines from the disputed 10 local government districts should be held in the Central Bank of Nigeria’s custody in Osogbo until the matter was resolved.JAMB Result

He then set Thursday as the new date for the next hearing.

📢 We are hiring writers!