The appeal contesting the announcement of Mr. Alex Otti as the victor of the State’s governorship election on March 18, 2023, has been settled by the Peoples Democratic Party, or PDP, in Abia State.
Mr. Samuel Oduntan, a statistician and digital examiner, appeared as a subpoenaed witness for the PDP during the prolonged hearing on Friday, August 18, 2023.
He used the written analysis report as testimony in court.
Oduntan said that he used forms EC8E and EC8A to analyze the votes cast for both the PDP and the Labour Party, despite INEC allegedly refusing to grant him access to the pertinent BVAS data used during the election.
He informed the court during cross-examination that the total number of polling places in Abia State is 4,062, and there are 184 Registration Areas (Wards) spread among the 17 LGAs.
He said that after taking into account and recalculating the legal votes cast in the Obingwa LGA, the PDP received 169,707 votes while the Labour Party received 169,519.
His allegation was made in opposition to earlier results released by INEC, which gave the PDP an election score of 88,529 and the Labour Party a score of 175,467.
However, A.J. Owonikoko, the lead attorney for Governor Alex Otti, portrayed the PDP witness as a foreigner brought by the PDP.
Additionally, the PDP witness, Oduntan, was cross-examined by Umeh Kalu, SAN, the lead attorney for the Labour Party.
During cross-examination, Oduntan informed the Tribunal that he was reportedly denied access to BVAS machines and voter identification cards despite a request to do so.
The case was continued for the respondents to present their case on August 23, 24, and 25.