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The Labour Party (LP) has criticized INEC reconfiguring the BVAS machines without the presence of independent witnesses and representatives of political parties. This comes after the LP's presidential candidate, Peter Obi, requested to examine the election materials. The LP accused INEC of backing up data retrieved from BVAS without transparency.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja granted INEC's request to reconfigure the BVAS machines used in the presidential election on February 25, 2023, despite objections from the LP seeking to prevent the reconfiguration.
Yunusa Tanko, the spokesman for the Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Council, criticized INEC for changing its rule of engagement and covering up anomalies they observed. He warned INEC to raise its standard and seek to do the right thing to avoid incurring the wrath of the masses.
Tanko also mentioned that Obi is consulting with his lawyers to determine whether or not to appeal the court ruling on BVAS reconfiguration.
The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, stated that the data back-up of the BVAS was an internal affair of the commission and not open to inspection by parties. He emphasized that the reconfiguration or data back-processes of the BVAS machines is strictly an internal affair of INEC, that no external eyes are allowed to witness. When asked when the said reconfiguration will be completed, he said, "about three days".
