There is currently a tense situation between the Labour Party and its Governorship candidate in Enugu State, Chijioke Edeoga, regarding the appearance of the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Enugu State, Dr. Chukwuemeka Chukwu, at the Tribunal on Sunday with the Bimodal Voter’s Accreditation System (BVAS) used during the governorship election held in the state on March 18, 2023.
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The dispute revolves around the subpoena issued to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the provision of the BVAS system to the Labour Party. Despite the subpoena served on the REC to allow the Labour Party to inspect the BVAS, INEC has failed to make it available.
During the Tribunal’s session on Saturday, arguments were presented regarding the proper method of serving a subpoena, with references to Supreme Court decisions. The Tribunal Chairman, Kudirat Akano, ruled for substituted service on INEC through its counsel, Okoye.
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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Peter Mbah, were represented by legal counsels Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), Anthony Ani (SAN), Ikechukwu Oluoma, and others.
After hearing from several witnesses, Valerie Azinge, counsel for the Labour Party, raised the issue of the subpoena reportedly served on the REC to produce the BVAS machine. However, the INEC counsel responded by stating that the subpoena was not served on the REC personally but on his counsel, which contradicts a Supreme Court ruling that it should be served on the REC directly. The court upheld the PDP’s submission, but the counsel for the Labour Party made another application for substituted service since the previous subpoena was mistakenly returned.
The Tribunal approved substituted service on the INEC counsel present in the court, through the counsel Okoye. The subpoena was successfully served.
Sunday marks the Labour Party’s final day for presenting their case, and the party is eagerly awaiting the Tribunal’s decision regarding the INEC subpoena dispute.
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The case of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and its governorship candidate, Mr. Frank Nweke Jr., was also heard and adjourned until Sunday.
There are concerns about how the subpoena will reach INEC between Saturday evening and Sunday morning when the tribunal adjourned the proceedings.
“Now that we have served the INEC counsel, it means that the REC has been served with the subpoena. However, what will happen with the subpoena tomorrow (Sunday) is still uncertain because if tomorrow is Saturday and tomorrow is Sunday, and the INEC counsel has not confirmed that the subpoena has reached the REC, we really don’t know what will happen tomorrow (Sunday). The purpose of the subpoena is to bring the BVAS machine and provide evidence,” said Uloma, counsel for the PDP.
