We were trained to transmit results electronically, says INEC technical officer

Peter Obi, a witness presented by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Atiku Abubakar, its presidential candidate, says he was trained to transmit results of the 2019 presidential polls.

Obi said he was one of the registration area technicians (RATECH) appointed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) during the 2019 presidential election.

He was the second witness presented by the PDP on Monday.

While responding to questions under cross-examination from Yunus Usman, INEC’s lawyer, he said it would be wrong to say that the results of the presidential poll were not transmitted electronically.

“You are not supposed to transmit results because you are not a presiding officer,” Usman said.

In response, Obi said: “You are wrong sir. INEC trained us to transmit results. I was not a presiding officer. I was not a polling agent. I was a registration area technician appointed by INEC. I was trained by INEC,” Obi said.

Obi, who said he worked as a RATECH at a ward level in Rivers state during the election, mentioned that he was not aware of the guidelines used by the INEC for the presidential election.

He added that there was a specific guidelines booklet issued for his roles as a RATECH.

“I did not serve as APO1 and I did not serve as the presiding officer,” he said.

“I was a RATECH in charge of the use of card reader.”

Atiku had said figures from INEC server showed he defeated Buhari  but the commission said it did not have a server where results of the presidential election were electronically transmitted.

The commission said it only used an electronic server as experiment during some state governorship elections in 2018.

Buba Galadima, a spokesman for the Atiku Campaign Organisation, was presented as the first witness.