We Transmitted Results To Server – INEC Ad Hoc Officers

Some witnesses presented before the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, on Monday, told the panel that election results from the presidential election were transmitted to a server belonging to the electoral body.

The PDP and Atiku are challenging the election of President Muhammadu Buhari, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2019 presidential election.

Two of the six witnesses called by the petitioners said they served as ad hoc staff of INEC.

One of them, Peter Obi, said he was trained to transmit results of the 2019 presidential poll.

Obi said he was one of the registration area technicians (RATECH) appointed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) during the 2019 presidential election.

While responding to questions under cross-examination from Yunus Usman, INEC’s lawyer, he said it would be wrong to say that the results of the presidential poll were not transmitted electronically.

“You are not supposed to transmit results because you are not a presiding officer,” Usman said.

In response, Obi said: “You are wrong sir. INEC trained us to transmit results. I was not a presiding officer. I was not a polling agent. I was a registration area technician appointed by INEC. I was trained by INEC.”

Obi, who said he worked as a RATECH at a ward level in Rivers state during the election, mentioned that he was not aware of the guidelines used by INEC for the presidential election.

He added that there was a specific guidelines booklet issued for his roles as a RATECH.

“I did not serve as APO1 and I did not serve as the presiding officer,” he said.

“I was a RATECH in charge of the use of card reader.”

Another, a Presiding Officer of INEC during the presidential election, Adejuyitan Olalekan, maintained that results of the presidential election were electronically transmitted.

The witness said the electoral body was given a code. Asked by Buhari’s lawyer: “Did you personally transmit votes to the server”?

The witness said: “I did it myself as a presiding officer. We transmitted the result to INEC server through a code that was provided by INEC”.

Maintaining that the server was connected to the Smart Card Reader, the witness said he did not have particulars of the server.

He was unable to give the code number and the server from which the results were transmitted to.

Among 23 exhibits the tribunal so far admitted into evidence included the Form CF 001 that contained the affidavit President Buhari submitted to INEC for the purpose of the presidential poll.

The form CF001 contains personal and educational qualification of Buhari as supplied.

The documents form part of evidence the petitioners seek to prove that Buhari did not possess requisite academic qualification for the last presidential election.

Meanwhile, hearing in the petition continues today with the petitioners calling more witnesses from the 400 lined up to prove their case against the outcome of the presidential election.

FROM aledeh.com/election-tribunal-we-transmitted-results-to-server-inec-ad-hoc-officers