The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has given the reason it would not engage the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in any argument over the case pending before the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal.
The reason, it said, was to avoid running against the law.
According to INEC, arguing over the case would be subjudice.
The body made this known while reacting to PDP’s allegation that it was denying it access to some electoral documents in its custody as granted by the court.
According to the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, the alleged refusal of INEC to give the party access to the documents needed to prosecute its case was intentional.
He said it was designed to frustrate the efforts by the PDP’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to prove that he won the last presidential election and not President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress.
But reacting, INEC, according to the National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, INEC, Mr Festus Okoye, in a statement said engaging PDP in argument over the case would be wrong.
According to him, INEC had already responded to the petitions before the tribunal.
Said Okoye: “The commission is aware that very senior lawyers are representing the petitioners and the respondents in relation to the said petitions.
“The commission is a law-abiding institution and will not argue or canvass in the media, petitions that are sub-judice, and where the presidential election petitions tribunal is firmly seized of the issues.
“The lawyers representing the petitioners are seized of the state of the law and the course to take if they truly believe that the commission is in disobedience of the orders of the presidential election petitions tribunal.
“The commission is a law-abiding institution and will continue to accord the requisite respect to judicial institutions and obey the orders of courts.’’
