By Chinelo Obogo and Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
The Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council (LPPCC), has said the results of the general election held on Saturday as being announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has potential to throw the country into chaos.
It warned that it should not be held accountable if Nigerians, particularly, youths decide to react violently to the the result of the general election.
The Campaign Council at a press briefing headed by its Director General, Akin Osuntokun in Abuja, called on INEC to suspend further announcement of the results, and follow its own guidelines or completely cancel the entire election and make plans for another election with strict compliance with the stipulated laws and guidelines.
“INEC result has potential to throw Nigeria into chaos
The President promised Nigerians free and fair elections with the passage of the new Electoral Act and indeed has repeated this promise multiple times.
“The INEC Chairman also came before Nigerians and the Global community to promise free and fair elections and severally reiterated its readiness to conduct the elections. What has become glaring is that none of these promises have been kept. All the promises made about deploying a fail-safe system anchored on BVAS were
broken.
“The internet and social media is awash with videos and photographic evidences of the pervasive violence and attacks that were visited on Nigerians with some
attacks still on-going across the country as we speak.
“The evidence of collusion between INEC and the security forces to subvert the will of the people are too numerous to be detailed here. The INEC guidelines on the conduct of the elections were extensively breached and INEC has evidently been very reluctant to make the necessary adjustment to remedy the situation.
“Contrary to the publicly advertised guidelines for the conduct of the elections, we are convinced that the processes leading to the results have been severely compromised. Consequently, we regret to state that we have lost confidence in the results being collated and being announced.
“Nigerians have inundated us with calls and protests over INEC’s non-compliance with provisions of the electoral guidelines and the obvious manipulations of the election results.
“We hereby call on INEC to suspend further announcement of the results, and follow its own
guidelines or completely cancel the entire election and make plans for another election with strict compliance with the stipulated laws and guidelines.
“We ask the international community to walk their talk in Nigeria, and cease to condone the multiple evils being perpetrated in our country by the rulers of Nigeria. There cannot be one standard for Nigeria, and another for the rest of the world.
Osuntokun, however, urged Nigerians to remain peaceful and law abiding, assuring that the party was doing everything within the law to protect the people’s sacred mandate.
At a separate press briefing in Abuja, Head of Obi-Datti Media Office, Diran Onifaddemanded that ongoing result collation and announcements be put on hold until all recorded cases of compromise, illegality and criminality are justifiably resolved especially in the states of Edo, Imo and Rivers and various parts of the North.
“After careful consideration of field reports from locations around the country, we have on record, hard video, documentary and first hand evidences of criminal conspiracies , tricks and irregularities by some INEC and security officials on one side, and also vicious attacks by political thugs, as well as clear evidence of inducement by politicians, one of whom was caught with half a million dollars in cash.
“In the light of the above, the Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Council is of the firm conviction that the processes and practices as carried on by INEC, and as permitted by some security agencies, do not in the most reasonable minimum, meet the required standards of credibility and were not fundamentally, free and fair.
“We further present, that a compromised election cannot produce genuine results nor can they be lawful, or in accordance with the constitution and the electoral Act 2022.
“The Amended Electoral Act says that Election Results are to be uploaded to the central server from the Polling Units. What is going on is practically Manual Collation that makes no sense at all.”
“According to Section 60 of the Electoral Act, 2022, the presiding officer in an election is mandated to announce the results at the polling unit in the presence of the party agents and have same uploaded at the polling units in the presence of the parties participating in the election or their agents. The widespread actions of INEC in moving the results away from the polling units across our strongholds and thereafter announcing the results in the absence of our party agents falls short of the above provision.
“On the basis of these anomalies, the Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Organisation hereby states that the conduct of the elections of 25th February 2023, including the ongoing charade of declaration of ‘results’ in the states and in Abuja are unacceptable, and we hereby demand unequivocally, for the suspension of all processes, until these recorded cases of compromise, illegality and criminality are justifiably resolved, especially in the states of Edo, Imo and Rivers and various parts of the North.”
The LP Presidential Campaign Council also called for the suspension of the announcement of the presidential election result and its outright cancellation.
During a press conference, the Director General of the campaign council, Dr. Akin Osuntokun, said despite promises by President Muhammadu Buhari that there would be free and fair elections, what has become glaring is that none of the promises has been kept and all pledges about deploying a fail-safe system anchored on BVAS were broken.
He alleged that the evidence of collusion between INEC and the security forces to subvert the will of the people were too numerous to be detailed, while insisting that the INEC guidelines on the conduct of the elections were extensively breached, and the commission has been reluctant to make the necessary adjustment to remedy the situation.
“Contrary to the publicly advertised guidelines for the conduct of the elections, we are convinced that the processes leading to the results have been severely compromised. Consequently, we state that we have lost confidence in the results being collated and announced. Nigerians have inundated us with calls and protests over INEC’s non-compliance with provisions of the electoral guidelines and the obvious manipulations of the election results.
“We, hereby, call on INEC to suspend the further announcement of the results, and follow its own guidelines or completely cancel the entire election and make plans for another election with strict compliance with the stipulated laws and guidelines,” he said.