Southern and middle belt leaders have described the 2023
presidential poll as fraudulent.
The leaders — Edwin Clark, convener of the Pan-Niger Delta
Forum (PANDEF); Ayo Adebanjo, leader of Afenifere; Pogu Bitrus, president,
Middle Belt Forum; Chukwuemeka Ezeife, former Anambra governor; and Okey
Emuchay, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide secretary-general — signed an open letter
addressed to President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday.
In the letter, they noted that the conduct of the February
25 poll was against the dictates of the Electoral Act 2022.
“Mr. President should note that there has been an uneasy
calm in the land and that the polity is laden with uncertainty orchestrated by
the conduct and outcome of the Presidential election,” they said.
“Your Excellency,
across Nigeria, voters of all ages and groups, consider the conduct and outcome
of the February 25 presidential election as fraudulent.
“Likewise, many foreign and local observers concluded that
the conduct of the election failed to meet the expectations of Nigerians and
that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) failed to follow the
Electoral Act 2022, and even its own guidelines in the conduct of the poll.
“This was in spite of the humongous amount of taxpayers’
money spent by INEC and the promises of free, fair and credible elections given
to Nigerians and the international community, ahead of the elections, by Mr.
President and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).”
They called on INEC to ensure that inconsistencies and
irregularities observed in the presidential election are addressed before the
gubernatorial and state assembly polls.
“Mr. President, the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) must be told, in unequivocal terms, to ensure that the
inconsistencies and irregularities observed during the Presidential and
National Assembly elections on February 25 will not reoccur in the Governorship
and State Assembly elections, holding on Saturday, March 18, 2023. Elections
belong to the people; it’s their decision and the people’s decision must be
respected,” the letter reads.
“Though the introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation
System may have mitigated the concern of ghost or multiple votes and the
February 25 election resulted in a national assembly somewhat reflective of the
extant political viewpoint of the country, the failure of the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) to strictly follow the Electoral Act 2022
marred the credibility of the election.
“The sanctity of the ballot must be upheld by the electoral
umpire and results of the elections must truly reflective the will of the
citizenry. We are not sure that pretexts of “technical glitches” with regard to
uploading of results from the BVAS to the iREV immediately after collation at
the polling units shall be tolerable in the Governorship and State Assembly
elections. The elections must be free, fair and credible!
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