Witnesses’ Fault’s Computation Of Wase Election Results That Was Used To Declare Ahmed Wase Winner

Yakubu Busari

Wase Federal Constituency of Plateau State, Ibrahim Bawa  Kanje has alleged wrongful computation of the results of the 25th February election through his agents while testifying in six polling units as agents against the APC candidate, Rt. Hon. Idris Ahmed Maje who was declared the winner  

The PW1 Zayat Daihiru Yaro from Gudus ward as a regular witness of the PDP and kanje  at the National Assembly election court on Thursday testified as a witness to the tribunal.

The National Election Petition Court in Plateau as a witness in the petition filed by Ibrahim Bawa Kanje and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to challenge the outcome of the February poll.

Led in evidence by the petitioners’ lead counsel, Obende, who told the court that he was PDP’s Collation Agent, identified himself as a businessman and a politician.

“The results were wrongly computed and announced. That was why I refused to sign. I don’t endorse fraud,” Mr. Yaro re-echoed his grouse that he had expressed during the collation of the results in February.

Under cross-examination by S.S.Obende’s lawyer, said most PDP agents promised to object to the admissibility and one disclosed that he did not sign the Form EC8As which were the result of Angwan Madaki Dugus polling unit.

“As an agent, I signed the results of the election, but I can only read and write Hausa fluently Not English Language. Why my tag didn’t have my passport attached was because the gum use removed” he told the court.

Giving another reason for rejecting the outcome of the poll, the witness said that the results brought to the ward collation center by state electoral officers were at variance with the results which shows one person thump printed the whole results.

Mr. Nanfa Dindam of the Angwan Ciroma polling unit added that the results declared by INEC were also at variance with the ones computed from copies of the result sheets uploaded on IReV, an online portal designed to receive polling units’ result sheets in real-time.

“My lords, exhibits have shown that the result on the IReV was at variance with what was announced. “

He said the Electoral Act 2022 mandates INEC to electronically transmit election results from polling stations to INEC’s IReV portal.

The electoral commission’s inability to electronically transmit the election results in real-time from the polling units across Wase forms one of the grounds upon which Kanje and other petitioners are challenging Mr. Idris Ahmed Maje’s victory.

He, however, said that the result captured in Form EC8A could not be changed even where it was not transmitted electronically.

The tribunal adjourned sitting for the continuation of hearing