All election petitions should end before swearing-in, says Chidoka

A former Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, has stated that all petitions arising from various elections should be resolved before the swearing-in of elected officials.

Speaking during an appearance on Sunday Politics on Channels Television, the Peoples Democratic Party chieftain said the move would strengthen and improve Nigeria’s electoral process.

The former minister also called for the scanning of ballot papers and the appointment of election auditors to scan election results.

He said, “All petitions must end before swearing-in.

“We must make sure that nobody takes advantage of the lacuna in the election. We should scan the results – all the paper ballots. They should appoint election auditors should scan the results.”

“INEC has the power to review results within seven days. I think that mechanism has not been used by INEC. They should be able to review what the BVAS has against what has been entered and make sure they cancel all the appropriate results that need to be cancelled.

The PDP chieftain also called for the establishment of Election Offences Tribunals as recommended in the Justice Uwais report.

“We should ensure that we go back to the Justice Uwais report, and the Election Offences Tribunal should be set up,” he added.

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