A public commentator, Deji Adeyanju, on Wednesday said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should not be defending election petitions because they are expected to be neutral at all times.
TrackNews reports that Adeyanju stated this following the insistence by the electoral body that Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) won the 2023 presidential election. INEC also asked the Tribunal to deny the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party all the reliefs sought on the grounds that their petitions are “devoid of any merit and also founded on frivolity”.
“INEC should generally not be defending election petitions. Be neutral in the real sense of the word. Although, when joined, INEC must respond of course but don’t go extra mile trying to nail a petitioner.
“Allow petitioners and respondents to fight in court and just observe,” Adeyanju wrote on his known Twitter handle.
