The National Collation Agent of the People’s Democratic Party PDP in the February 25 presidential election, Senator Dino Melaiye on Friday in Abuja told the Presidential Election Petition Court that election collation errors by the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC led to declaration of President Bola Tinubu.
Melaiye informed the Court tha he left the National Collation Center at the International Conference Centre in Abuja when the alleged deliberate errors became unbearable and intolerabble to him.
Senator Melaiye who testified as a Star Witness for former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar whose joint petition with PDP is seeking nullification of Tinubu’s declaration as winner of the 2023 Presidetial election.
Led in his evidence-in -Chief by Atiku’s lead counsel, Chief Chris Uche SAN, the witness said that he refused to sign the final collated results so as not to be part of corruption and malpractices that allegedly engulfed the collation exercise.
Melaiye who is the second Star Witness in the hearing of the petition insisted that the results which INEC acted upon to declare Tinubu winner of the February 25 presidential election was wrongly computed by INEC.
He also told the court that besides himself, many agents of the PDP in the presidential election did not also sign the results at various levels.
While responding to questions from Tinubu’s lawyer, Chief Akin Olujimi, SAN, the witness argued that failure of transmission of what has been recorded is an infringement of the law.
He pointed out that electronic transmission of results from the polling units unto the IReV is a very important aspect of the election process, arguing that without IReV the election circle cannot be said to have been completed.
Meanwhile, hearing in both petitions have been adjourned till Monday, June 19.
