2023 elections Archives

INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu speaks at the collation centre

July 2, 2023

Nigeria rejects EU Election Observation Mission report on February election

2023 elections, Dele Alake, European Union Election Observation Mission

STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE

WE REJECT EUROPEAN UNION’S CONCLUSIONS ON 2023 GENERAL ELECTIONS

Sometimes in May, we alerted the nation, through a press statement, to the plan by a continental multi-lateral institution to discredit the 2023 general elections conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission. The main target was the presidential election, clearly and fairly won by the then candidate of All Progressives Congress, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

While we did not mention the name of the organisation in the said statement, we made it abundantly clear to Nigerians how this foreign institution had been unrelenting in its assault on the credibility of the electoral process, the sovereignty of our country and on our ability as a people to organise ourselves. We find it preposterous and unconscionable that in this day and age, any foreign organisation of whatever hue can continue to insist on its own yardstick and assessment as the only way to determine the credibility and transparency of our elections.

Now that the organisation has submitted what it claimed to be its final report on the elections, we can now categorically let Nigerians and the entire world know that we were not unaware of the machinations of the European Union to sustain its, largely, unfounded bias and claims on the election outcomes.

For emphasis, we want to reiterate that the 2023 general elections, most especially the presidential election, won by President Bola Tinubu/All Progressives Congress, were credible, peaceful, free, fair and the best organised general elections in Nigeria since 1999.

There is no substantial evidence provided by the European Union or any foreign and local organisation that is viable enough to impeach the integrity of the 2023 election outcomes.

It is worth restating that the limitation of EU final assessment and conclusions on our elections was made very bare in the text of the press conference addressed by the Head of its Electoral Observation Mission, Barry Andrews. While addressing journalists in Abuja on the so-called final report, Andrews noted that EU-EOM monitored the pre-election and post-election processes in Nigeria from January 11 to April 11, 2023 as an INEC accredited election monitoring group. Within this period, EU-EOM observed the elections through 11 Abuja-based analysts, and 40 election observers spread across 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. With the level of personnel deployed, which was barely an average of one person per state, we wonder how EU-EOM independently monitored election in over 176,000 polling units across Nigeria.

We would like to know and even ask EU, how it reached the conclusions in the submitted final report with the very limited coverage of the elections by their observers who, without doubt, relied more on rumours, hearsay, cocktails of prejudiced and uninformed social media commentaries and opposition talking heads.

We are convinced that what EU-EOM called final report on our recent elections is a product of a poorly done desk job that relied heavily on few instances of skirmishes in less than 1000 polling units out of over 176,000 where Nigerians voted on election day.

We have many reasons to believe the jaundiced report, based on the views of fewer than 50 observers, was to merely sustain the same premature denunciatory stance contained in EU’s preliminary report released in March.

We strongly reject, in its entirety, any notion and idea from any organisation, group and individual remotely suggesting that the 2023 election was fraudulent.

Our earlier position that the technology-aided 2023 general elections were the most transparent and best organised elections since the return of civil rule in Nigeria has been validated by all non-partisan foreign and local observers such are the African Union, ECOWAS, Commonwealth Observer Mission and the Nigerian Bar Association.

Unlike EU-EOM that deployed fewer than 50 observers, the Nigerian Bar Association that sent out over 1000 observers spread across the entire country for same election gave a more holistic and accurate assessment of the elections in their own report.

NBA, an organisation of eminent lawyers and an important voice within the civic space, reported that 91.8 per cent of Nigerians rated the conduct of the national and state elections as credible and satisfactory. Any election that over 90% of the citizens considered transparent should be celebrated anywhere in the world.

It is heart-warming that INEC, through its National Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, Mr. Festus Okoye, has come out to defend the integrity of the election it conducted by rejecting the false narratives in the EU report.

It is also gratifying that the electoral umpire, as an institution that is open to learning and continuous improvements, has also committed to taking on board more ideas, innovation and reforms that will further enhance the integrity and credibility of our electoral process.

As a country, we have put the elections behind us. President Tinubu is facing the arduous task of nation-building, while those who have reasons to challenge the process continue to do so through the courts. In just one month in office, Nigerians appear satisfied with the decisive leadership of President Tinubu and the manner he is redirecting the country to the path of fiscal sustainability and socio-economic reforms. We urge the EU and other foreign interests to be objective in all their assessments of the internal affairs of our country and allow Nigeria to breathe.

Dele Alake

Special Adviser to the President

(Special Duties, Communications and Strategy)

July 2, 2023

From 2nd left, Keyamo, Ajuri, Sunday Dare in Washington D.C.

April 12, 2023

Opposition members sore losers, hypocrites: Tinubu’s team says in Washington D.C.

2023 elections, President-Elect Bola Tinubu

TEXT OF THE PARLEY HELD WITH THE U.S. MEDIA AT THE NATIONAL PRESS CENTER, WASHINGTON D.C, UNITED STATES ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12TH, 2023 BY REPRESENTATIVES OF THE PRESIDENT-ELECT, SENATOR BOLA AHMED TINUBU – MR. FESTUS KEYAMO, SAN (CHIEF SPOKESPERSON AND MINISTER OF STATE, LABOUR); MR. SUNDAY DARE (MINISTER OF YOUTH AND SPORTS); MR. AJURI NGELALE (ASST. PRINCIPAL SPOKESPERSON).

(1) It is our pleasure and privilege to welcome you to the National Press Center in Washington D.C for this interactive session on Nigeria’s Presidential Election, 2023. We do not intend to make this a long-winding and boring session, so we shall go straight to the points we intend to make to clear some of the fallacies that have been peddled around the world by the sore losers at the said election.

PREPARATION FOR THE ELECTIONS: A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD

(2) The country’s out-going President, Muhammadu Buhari, signed into law a Bill that seeks to improve our electoral process by introducing technology as a means of accrediting voters at the polling units. This is known as the ELECTORAL ACT, 2022. The opposition and international observers hailed him on this.

(3) There was also complete non-interference in the political process by State institutions. There were no reports of deployment of security agents or State apparati in support of the candidate of the ruling party. In fact, in some instances, the opposition celebrated the fact that our candidate had no support of the Government. These led to well-published reports (albeit false) that the President was not in support of the candidate of his own party.
THE STATE OF THE LEADING PARTIES BEFORE THE ELECTIONS

(4) The ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) controlled 21 out of the 36 States of the country and the FCT before the elections with elected Governors; whilst the main opposition, the People’s Demoratic Party (PDP) had 14 Governors and the All Progressives Grand Alliance had one Governor. The Labour Party had no single Governor or elected official at any level of Government.

(5) About eight months to the elections, the main opposition, the PDP, suffered some major set-backs. Its Vice-Presidential Candidate in 2019, Mr. Peter Obi moved to the Labour Party with his supporters, mainly from his region of origin, the South-East. Another of the Party’s main pillar of support in the North-West, Alhaji Musa Kwakwanso moved to the New Nigerian People’s Party (NNPP), taking with him a chunk of the party’s supporters in that region. Five (5) out of the 14 Governors of the PDP, publicly announced they would not be campaigning for or supporting its Presidential Candidate (Alhaji Atiku Abubakar). Meanwhile, the ruling party remained one huge, indivisible entity with no departure of any of its elected officials or public dissent from them. It was in this state of affairs that all the parties went into the elections.

THE ELECTION OF FEBRUARY 25TH, 2023

(6) Contrary to the false outcry by the opposition, the main technological device, Bi-modal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) did not fail on the election day. All the local and international observers scored the use of BVAS very high, with one local body called YIAGA, working in coalition with the EU and other International Observers, saying it recorded 88% success in all the polling units it monitored. The Nigeria Bar Association also issued its report saying only 8 percent of voters were not satisfied with the process on that day. The portal that the opposition made so much noise about, IREV, is just a viewing portal, which has nothing to do with accreditation or verification of voters or even the counting or recording of votes.

(7) Whilst we hold no brief for the Electoral Commission, it sufficiently explained to Nigerians the next day that the delay in uploading the results to the viewing portal was as a result of a technical glitch. And since the results have since been uploaded eventually, none of the parties have produced their own copies of the result sheets obtained at various polling units that substantially contradicts the results released and announced by the Electoral Commission. Even in their Election Petitions presently before the Court, no such alternative figures have been provided. So, what is all the fuss about?

(8) It is significant to note that some other elections into the Senate and House of Representatives held on the same day, at the same time and with the same personnel. The opposition candidates have since gleefully gone to collect their Certificates of Return for the various seats they won. Why did they not reject the outcome of those elections too and reject their Certificate of Return? This is hypocrisy taken too far.

THE RESULT OF THE ELECTION
(9) On Wednesday, the 1st of March, 2023, the Electoral Commission announced the results as follows:
§ APC – 8,794,726 (36.61%)
§ PDP – 6,984,520 (29.07%)
§ LP – 6,101,533 (25.40%)
§ NNPP – 1,496,687(6.23%)

Other smaller parties scored some negligible figures.

(10) The winner, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu has since collected his Certificate of Return and the Transition Committees are working hard towards a smooth transition.
THE ANALYSES AND CREDIBILITY OF THE RESULTS

(11) Our Constitution requires a Presidential candidate to secure the highest number of votes and score at at least one-quarter of the votes in two-thirds of the States of the Federation which includes the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
Only Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu met these requirements especially that of the spread (he scored 25 percent and above in 29 States), even though all 3 top candidates won 12 States each. The candidate of the PDP scored 25% and above in just 21 States, falling short of the 24 States required and the candidate of the Labour Party scored 25% and above in 15 States plus the Federal Capital Territory, making it 16 States. There was just no pathway to victory for these candidates who did not have the requisite national acceptability. So, how tenable is the claim of rigging the elections? We see none

(12) It is significant to note that the elections were so credible that it threw up some upsets in our otherwise settled demography. For the first time, 20 sitting Governors lost their States, mostly those of the ruling party. Seven Governors who sought elections into the Senate failed to scale through. This has never happened in the history of Nigeria. In addition, the President-Elect lost his home State (Lagos State); the sitting President lost his home State (Katsina State); the Director-General of the Campaign lost his home State (Plateau State); the ruling Party Chairman lost his home State (Nasarawa State); the Chairman of the ruling Party’s Governor Forum lost his home State (Kebbi State) and the ruling party lost some of its traditional strong holds like Yobe State, Kaduna State and Kano State. All these go to show that it was a keenly contested election and one of the most credible in our history.

(13) The reports of some irregularities and violence in some polling units could not have affected the overall outcome of the elections too. There are 176,974 polling units in Nigeria and infractions and violence were recorded in less than one percent of these units. How could these have affected the overall results of the elections? Whilst we look forward to an era when there would be no single casualty during elections in Nigeria, however, the statistics show that 2023 recorded the lowest casualty rates ever. During the 1964/65 elections about 200 deaths were recorded as a result of election violence; 1993 election recorded 100 deaths; 1999 election recorded 80 deaths; 2003 polls recorded 100 deaths and 2007 polls recorded 300 deaths. The 2011 polls recorded 800 deaths, the 2015 polls recorded 100 deaths and the 2019 polls recorded 150 deaths. However, the 2023 polls recorded no more than 28 deaths as a result of election violence. So, the claim that this is the “worst” election so far is totally unfounded.

(14) In conclusion, our laws have provided for settled means by which election disputes are resolved. The aggrieved parties have taken advantage of this remedy by filing their cases in Court. We urge them to have faith in our judicial system and desist from spreading false tales about our election across the world.
Meanwhile, arrangements for the handover ceremonies are in full gear. The President-Elect will take his Oath of Office as President of Nigeria on May 29th, 2023. You are all invited.
Thank you.

FESTUS KEYAMO, SAN, FCIArb (UK)
For and on behalf of the team

INEC chairman Yakubu with some foreign observers

April 12, 2023

What foreign observers said about Nigeria’s election: Facts and fiction

2023 elections, foreign observers

By Temitope Ajayi

The outcome of Nigeria’s presidential election won by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has thrown up all kinds of analysis on social and mainstream media.

A review of the post-election reportage of a section of the media with a patently nattering anti-Tinubu stance continuously project the election as “rigged” and “manipulated” in favour of the APC candidate, while citing reports of foreign observers and those of some rabidly partisan local observers.

It is apparent that there is a grand and devious scheme to sway the minds of members of the public to accept the unfounded rigging claims by the opposition elements who have deployed all manner of misinformation, blackmail, threats, intimidation, subterfuge and even coercion.

It is disconcerting watching otherwise respected individuals on primetime television taking up the enviable role of salesmen and women for lies.

Often cited to support their treacherous and perfidious vituperation on radio and television stations are supposed reports of foreign observers who monitored the February 25th, 2023 presidential and National Assembly elections. These blatant distortions of the reports of foreign observer missions will no longer go unchallenged.

What are the facts and what did the foreign observer missions say about the conduct of general elections, and the presidential election in particular?

First, let’s bring to the fore what each of the missions opined in their reports as regards the general conduct of the election and substantiality in terms of compliance with the governing laws under which the polls were conducted vis-a-vis global best practices.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Observer Mission, the sub-regional bloc under the leadership of former President of Sierra Leone, Ernest Koroma, who led delegation, noted that the Presidential and National Assembly elections were “generally peaceful and transparent.” This runs contrary to the vile propaganda overdrive by the opposition that the election was marred by violence, voter suppression and intimidation.

Though it admits that voter turnout was generally low, the leader of the team, ex-President Koroma declared: “Vote counting and tallying processes were carried out in a transparent, simple and professional manner in the presence of party agents, observers and security agents in the daytime in some polling units and with lamps in others places where voting was delayed.”

Like every human exercise prone to hitches, the ECOWAS Team acknowledged late arrivals of election materials in few polling units and pockets of violence in less than five out of the 36 states of the Nigeria federation.

The continental body, African Union (AU), sent 32 teams of observers to 17 states in Nigeria covering the six geo-political zones. In total, the AU Observers, according to the Election Observation Report posted on the AU Commission website, visited a total of 438 polling units to observe the voting, closing and counting procedures in urban and rural areas.

The AU Observer Mission, in its report signed by former President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, the leader of the delegation said: “In 95 percent of polling units visited, the atmosphere was generally calm and peaceful, except for isolated incidents of violence in Kano, Lagos, Delta, Abuja and Cross River.

“The Mission further notes the positive measures undertaken by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to reschedule polls to 26th February, 2023 in specific areas where voting could not take place due to insecurity or logistical reasons.”

From available records from various local and international observers, media reports and security agencies, the polling units where there was any form of incidence due to logistics challenges, malfunction of BVAS machines or violence are not up to 500 nationwide out of over 176,000 polling units. Statistically, the number is too insignificant to impact on the outcome of the election or cause a major shift in the final results.

Africa’s outstanding statesman and former President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, led the Commonwealth Team of Foreign Observers.

In their report, the Commonwealth Mission stated that they deployed their Election Observers to the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja), Benue, (Makurdi), Edo (Benin City), Kano, Lagos, Ondo (Akure), Rivers (Port Harcourt) and Sokoto States.

Mbeki, in his team’s preliminary assessment of the electoral process at a press conference in Abuja on 27 February, 2023, noted that the election was “largely peaceful” despite administrative and logistical hurdles at many polling units, adding that, “Nigerians were largely accorded the right to vote.”

Addressing local and foreign journalists, Mbeki said further: “We congratulate all Nigerians for their determination, patience and resilience displayed throughout the electoral process…we call on all those with grievances to address disputes through prescribed legal channels.”

While the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in their joint report devoted more attention to some of the logistical challenges and identified gaps which they have already advised INEC to address in future elections, the two institutes validated and attested to the peaceful conduct of the election and substantial observance of the rules and procedures by electoral officials at all levels.

IRI and NDI specifically affirmed the good use of BVAS and how the electronic accreditation system enhanced the transparency of the election.

The 40-person IRI/NDI delegation, with members from 20 countries, was led by Dr. Joyce Banda, former President of the Republic of Malawi.

In her delegation were Ambassador Mark Green, President and CEO of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and former Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development; NDI Board Member, Ambassador Johnnie Carson, former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, IRI Board Member, Constance Berry Newman, former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, NDI Board Member, Stacey Abrams, American political leader, lawyer and voting rights activist, and IRI Board Member, Dana White, former Assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, NDI President, Ambassador Derek Mitchell and IRI President, Dr. Daniel Twining.

The Mission visited Nigeria from February 20 to 27, 2023, and deployed Observer Teams to 20 states covering all the six geo-political zones and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Excerpts of the IRI/NDI Election Observation Report: “Observers noted that the BVAS largely functioned properly, although some polling officials struggled to understand how to operate the system and, in many cases, the BVAS failed to authenticate voters via fingerprints, while the facial recognition feature functioned well.

“Closing and Counting: Most observers reported that officials followed guidance to allow all voters in line to vote, which in some cases extended voting well past the 2.30pm closing time as a result of the late openings. Ballot counting extended into the night in some locations, necessitating the use of cellphone lights to record results and pack up materials.

“Observers noted that in polling units with more than 1,000 registered voters, sorting and counting of ballots moved slowly. In one instance where only 202 ballots were cast, sorting, counting went on smoothly, but despite delays, voters engaged enthusiastically in the ballot counting process and polling officials generally followed procedures by counting ballots transparently in the full view of the public. Voters were generally informed of the closing and counting procedures, with a few observers noting that voters insisted that the polling officials transferred the results electronically before proceeding to the ward collation centre.”

From the foregoing, it is trite to state that there is nothing in the reports of the foreign Observer Missions that suggested a flawed election and doomsday scenario the opposition figures have repeatedly made a song and dance of in the aftermath of the 2023 general elections.

Fact remains that the leaders of the two leading opposition parties, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP) knew long ago that they lost the election fair and square to the APC candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

Every credible pre-election forecast projected Asiwaju Tinubu as the clear winner in spite of the turbulent and orchestrated socio-economic quagmire the nation was thrown into as a result of scarcity of fuel and naira notes, which made living unbearable for generality of Nigerians.

-Ajayi, a Public Affairs Commentator served as a member of Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Council

April 6, 2023

How Outcome of 2023 elections will reshape Nigeria’s future

2023 elections, President-Elect Bola Tinubu

Dr Ayo Teriba, Chief Executive Officer, Economic Associates, said the 2023 general elections will redefine Nigeria’s political dynamics and deliver expected effectiveness in achieving its economic outcomes.

Teriba said this while speaking on the expected outcomes of the 2023 elections on the Nigeria’s economic and political climate in reshaping the country’s future at the Nigerian Institute of Management Chartered(NIM) 2023 Corporate Members Forum in Lagos.

The theme of the forum is: “Nigeria’s Post-Election Economic Outlook”.

The economist explained that last general elections showed that there was real democratic consensus, away from the usual former military heads and handpicked successors.

Teriba listed some of the outcomes the last election to include stronger sense of responsibility towards the electorate and institutional capacity building in the presidency and the parliament.

“Power should become the means to ends, as leaders of the democratic struggle are most likely to show stronger sense of responsibility that should lead to the creation of United States-style Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) to boost President’s capability to deliver.

“It should also lead to the creation of United States-style Joint Committees or the United Kingdom-style Select Committees such as bicameral, bi-partisan, committees that have no legislation drafting responsibilities.

“They help the committee systems get better grip on technical issues ranging from economy, finance, technology, national security to boost capability of legislators to deliver,” he said.

He added that the electoral outcomes would result in issue-based engagement between parties, parliament, president, and the people with stronger accountability levels to attain desired economic outcomes.

“Nigeria would also expect security of lives and livelihoods, and adequate supply of energy-fuel and power and clear sense of direction on adequate external and internal liquidity thresholds that will underpin exchange rate stability, growth, and harmony.

“We must not forget institutional reforms to ensure harmonious, predictable, accountable, responsive, lawful, and humane design, coordination or execution of fiscal, financial, macro-prudential, micro-prudential, monetary, and payments policies.

“As democrats get the first bite at power in 2023, we should also expect sectoral reforms such as infrastructure which include oil, gas, power, road, rail, air and water transport as well as government real estate portfolio, and State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs).

“Nigeria must enjoy reduced uncertainties around revenue, debt, tax, subsidy, currency notes, foreign exchange, and exchange rates,” he said.

In her remarks, Dr Christiana Atako, President, NIM, noted that while the general elections might have come and gone, the after effect still reverberates on the nation’s economy.

Atako stressed that for a stable post-election economy and to quickly set the nation on the path of development and growth, government at all levels must ensure deliberate policies on good governance at the disposal of the electorate.

She explained that this would mean embarking on socio-economic programmes that would improve the standard of living of many Nigerians.

Atako also said that the electorate had long yearned for good governance and imperative that the government ensures that Nigerians enjoy the benefits from democracy.

“The dividends of democracy can only trickle down to the electorate, not just by putting the people-friendly policies in place, but also by ensuring that they are implemented to the letter for the benefit of the common man whom they are targeted.

“Provision of basic infrastructure as well as institution of programmes aimed at empowering the masses, especially in the area of entrepreneurship.

“This will not only help to drive the economy, but are also at the root of genuine efforts by any government to foster good governance.

“The Institute believes that if deliberate effort by the government towards providing good governance and the positioning of leaders with the right qualities in appointed offices, the post-election economic outlook of the nation will be favourable and the nation would have strengthened the belief of the citizenry in electoral processes,” she said.

March 31, 2023

ICYMI: Father Mbaka begs God on behalf of partisan Nigerian pastors

2023 elections, Father Ejike Mbaka

The spiritual Director of the Adoration Chaplaincy, Enugu, Father Ejike Mbaka, has sought God’s forgiveness for church leaders over their partisanship during the 2023 presidential elections, won by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The outspoken Catholic priest told the congregation on Wednesday at his Adoration Ground, that the positions the church leaders took messed up the altar of God.

“God, forgive us, forgive the Church, we have gotten it wrong this time”, Mbaka said in a viral video.

“I apologise on behalf of the whole men of God, the whole pastors, the whole priests and the whole bishops. I’m not worthy to apologise for Bishops, but I’m apologising.

“Let the mercy of God descend because what we did within the political moment….a lot of indescribable political brouhaha and political jingoisms and atrocities (were committed).

“We manifested and buried the power of sacrament beneath political forces, political hawks and vultures; they want to vulturise the Church.

“We turned the churches into campaign centres, turned the churches into places of politicking.

“How can you prophesy that God told you who will win and it did not come to pass? And you want to blame it on rigging.

“When we know that God’s Word supersedes every rigging!

“We messed up the altar, we defiled the Altar. How do we want power to move from altar that has been defiled? We cannot continue with such iniquities.

“I pray that God will forgive us. Forgive us Oh Lord, forgive Your Church, forgive Christianity in Nigeria.”

Mbaka, who spoke in both English and Igbo, said: “We have gotten it wrong this time. Amen.

“Just let it be like this. If you want to misunderstand me, that is your business.”

Watch the video:

*Adapted from Sahara Reporters

March 27, 2023

Enough of Political Rascality Over 2023 General Elections

2023 elections, Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC)

Being the text of a Press Conference addressed by a Coalition of Civil Society Organizations on the outcome of the just concluded general elections and the State of the Nation today, Monday, 27th March, 2023.

Preamble

We want to start by passing our warmest regards and salute to NIGERIANs for their commitment to the unity of Nigeria by coming out to express their democratic right in the just concluded general elections, we also commend all the institutions that took active part in the exercise which includes INEC, all the Security agencies, EFCC, Members of the Fourth Estate/the Media and the accredited local and international observers.

We in the civil society community have watched recent events in the nation’s body polity with keen interest. We have observed this negative trend since the end of the recently held 2023 General Elections notwithstanding the inconclusiveness of two states gubernatorial elections, with deep feeling of anger and disbelief regarding the effect that the country seems to be moving away from the path of sanity and civility to a steady descent to anarchy and chaos.

Due to this, we as democrats, can no longer fold our arms and do nothing as responsible stakeholders in the Nigerian project.

For the purpose of emphasis, what the country has been passing through since the 2023 general elections is nothing more than political rascality, irresponsibility, crudity, recklessness, insensitivity and treasonable acts which threaten our nation’s democracy and national security.

As you all know, we have been active players in Nigeria’s political life since the days of military despotism in the 80’s and 90’s.

We have even been very active since our tertiary education days as young adults till now and our roles in the civil society movement are very much well known and documented.

For the avoidance of doubt, our series of advocacy have brought us to follow in the footsteps of leading lights in the civil society movement such as the likes of Chief Gani Fawehinmi, Beko Ransome Kuti, Anthony Enahoro, Baba Omojola, Alfred Ilenre, Chima Ubani, Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu, Cmdr. Dan Suleiman, Alao Aka Bashorun, Hajiya Gambo Sawaba, Ola Oni, Arthur Nwankwo, Prof Jadesola Akande, Alhaja Raliat Daniju, all of blessed memory.

We are also glad that some of the shinning lights such as Chief Ayo Opadokun, Prof Wole Soyinka, Dr. Keziah Awosika, Fred Agbeyegbe, Ayo Obe, Titi Akosa, Prof Femi Obayori, Biodun Aremu etc are still alive but remain sad that the country of our dreams that was hoped and laboured for, is still far away from the proverbial Eldorado.

It is to the credit of these patriots and many more persons of like minds and interest, that they were able to galvanize the society for good governance and democracy in their lifetime and thus played critical roles in terminating military dictatorship in Nigeria. Their heroic stance and actions are well acknowledged and receipted by history.

Collectively with these giants, we sacrificed sweat, limbs and lives of the Nigerian people at great costs to birth this democracy in 1999 and we will not fold our arms and watch it derided, demarketed, maligned, discredited and truncated by elements that lack democratic ethos and credentials.

We refer to characters who lack proper understanding of democracy and its values and are not ready to learn, have obstinately refused to imbibe the tenets of democracy which is about the will of the majority over the minority as expressed by all Nigerians who came out to vote at the polls.

Following the fair, successful and credible conduct of the 2023 general elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), whom we commend for the marvelous work it has done despite all the landmines laid in its path, we have watched with bated breadth and shock, how some characters are plotting to truncate our hard earned democracy at all costs through treasonable and subversive calls for the installation of an interim government.

These unpatriotic elements have resorted to fake news, hate speech, lies, falsehood, misinformation and campaign of blackmail and calumny against all known national institutions with a view to arm twisting and blackmailing them to toe their ignoble and undemocratic line.

Wickedly of them, their sinister and unpatriotic actions have caused threats to the lives of Nigerians because their party and candidate lost an election.

If we all recall, while INEC was busy with the collation of the Presidential and National Assembly Elections results, two bitter and sore losers presidential candidates and members of their political parties having seen the handwriting of defeat on the wall via their manually collated party agents results from the polling units, to the wards, local government levels and state collation centres, started calling for the cancellation of the presidential election midway citing irregularity of non uploading of the results to the IRev by INEC and sadly, this irresponsible, insensitive, reckless, provocative and treasonable call was echoed by a former President of Nigeria whose place is cemented in our political history as the progenitor of do or die politics, who supervised the most scandalous elections in our national life.

Ladies and gentlemen, we want it placed on record, that we condemn in totality the pockets of violence, voters intimidation and harassment which occurred in some polling stations during the elections and we demand that the security agencies investigate and take appropriate action to remedy these infractions that have become a recurring decimal across the country at every election cycle.

However, we reject in strong terms the attempt to taint the credibility of the 2023 general elections by anti democratic elements who have taken their campaign of calumny against the successful and credible conduct of the elections to a ridiculous height by describing it as the worst in Nigeria’s history, that it was marred by electoral violence and voters suppression which is at variance with the facts on the ground.

According to a report published by socioeconomic research firm SBM, voters intimidation, harassment and assault were only reported in 5% of the polling stations nationwide. This figures reflect a downward trend of violence. The 2023 general elections was the least violent in Nigeria’s election history and the data of election history below will validate our position.

Elections Years/deaths
1964/65 – 200
1993 – 100
1999 – 80
2003 – 100
2007 – 300
2011 – 800
2015 – 100
2019 – 150
2023 – 13-28

From the report, we can confirm that 13 persons were killed in 36 incidents across Nigeria, but this figure could go as high as 28 if we consider some media reports of deaths which is subject to verification.

Thus, like we say, data don’t lie, so how can any responsible person be engaged in lies, falsehood and blackmail of the 2023 general elections in the face of obvious facts that its violence rate shows a steady decline unlike in previous elections?

It is a well known fact that Nigeria operates a constitutional democracy in which the process for the installation of a government has been prescribed as through universal suffrage (election) by the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

The same Constitution also provides room for aggrieved parties to seek redress for any perceived infraction through the Election Petitions Tribunal and the Courts.

Nowhere in the 1999 Constitution (as amended), is it stipulated that when an election) is conducted and results declared, that the aggrieved parties, candidates and supporters can resort to street protests, threats of violence, call for cancellation of election or installation of an interim government.

The Constitution does not permit for aggrieved candidate(s) or party to engage in peddling of fake news, hate speech, lies, falsehood, misinformation, incitements, campaign of blackmail, intimidation and calumny against the state through threats of breakdown of law and order.

The Constitution does not permit for aggrieved candidate(s) or party to engage in peddling of fake news, hate speech, lies, falsehood, misinformation, incitements, campaign of blackmail, intimidation and calumny against the state through threats of breakdown of law and order.

Any party, candidate or its agents resorting to the above mentioned anti- democratic acts and threats to national security under our laws, is liable for treason and we urge the government to activate all its law enforcement agencies to act swiftly to prevent this ticking bomb that threaten our collective peaceful co-existence.

We are shocked and amused that while going to court to challenge the outcome of the presidential election which was conducted successfully and creditably by INEC in which they lost, same aggrieved candidates and their party are in the same breadth hypocritically applauding and commending the conduct of national and state houses of assembly and governorship elections by same INEC in which they won, these political parties, its candidates and agents have been making provocative, irresponsible, insensitive, reckless, undemocratic and subversive statements against democracy and national security through interviews, comments, sponsored rallies which is condemnable and unacceptable.

We also condemn in strong terms, the subversive and unGodly sermons from anti democratic elements accomplices on the pulpit who have desecrated the altar of God for political expediency.

Everyday, the sensibilities of Nigerians are assaulted and traumatized by the so called men of God denigrating the Lord’s temple for filthy political lucre which is very sad, unfortunate, reprehensible and despicable.

We however want to use this opportunity to admonish these agents of destabilization, that as Nigerians who went to the polls peacefully and orderly to exercise our franchise on election day and even observe the elections, we will no longer fold our arms and watch them discredit and undermine our democracy and national security for their selfish end.

We state that as organizations which observed the 2023 general elections under our umbrella body, we affirm that the elections were conducted in substantial compliance with provisions of the electoral Act 2022 and the outcome reflected the will of the people as expressed at the polls.

The treasonable comments and conducts being exhibited over an election that was creditably conducted in substantial compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act, which they lost is becoming embarrassing and unbearable.

The silence of the majority of Nigerians who voted for the President-elect and other candidates who won at the polls, must not be mistaken for cowardice, enough is enough!

We commend the media for the professionalism and objectivity exhibited before, during and after the elections and appeal to them to continue to uphold the ethics of the profession just as we charge them to educate and sensitize innocent and peace loving Nigerians on the tenets of democracy which is being daily debased, abused and assaulted by these anti democratic elements just to confuse and incite the people for selfish end, enough is enough!

Finally, we commend our hardworking and tireless security and anti graft agencies for their professionalism, impartiality and dedication to duty which contributed in no small measure to the success and credibility of the elections and particularly urge the security agencies to rein in these anti democratic elements to face the law for subversion and treason where it is established after investigation.

Enough is Enough of political rascality over the 2023 general elections.

God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Thank you all for your attention.

Yours Sincerely,

Razaq Olokoba
Convener
Campaign for Dignity in Governance

Nelson Ekujumi
Co-Convener
Committee for the Protection of Peoples Mandate

Titi Akosa
Co-Convener
Center for 21st Century Issues

Raji Rasheed Oyewumi
Co-Convener
Movement for Democratic Change

Alex Omotehinse
Co-Convener
Center for Human and Socio-economic Rights

March 7, 2023

Election Rigging claims don’t add up

2023 elections, Mahmud Jega

BY MAHMUD JEGA

A member of the British House of Lords, when told that money is difficult to come by these days, said he is nearly 90 years old but cannot remember any time in the past when money was easy to get. I have been watching Nigerian elections since 1979 and I cannot remember a time when those who lost the election did not allege rigging and intimidation. For a time, there was hope that President Goodluck Jonathan’s 2015 concession phone call could become the norm in Nigeria. It now looks like it was a one-off event. Instead, it was Godsday Orubebe’s 2015 attempt to storm INEC’s National Collation Centre that has endured, with Dino Melaye attempting a poor carbon copy in 2023.

The young men and women who are saying on social media that the 2023 election was full of rigging and intimidation, have no personal knowledge of the golden age of rigging and intimidation in Nigerian elections. In this election I saw no reports in the media of thugs snatching ballot boxes and stuffing them. I saw no reports of security agents cordoning off whole polling stations while ballot boxes were being stuffed. There was no story of soldiers scattering voters in any place. Where is the mother of all rigging, when Supreme Court ruled in 1983 that UPN’s Michael Adekunle Ajasin of Ondo State got 1.2million votes, NPN’s Akin Omoboriowo got 500,000 votes but the returning officer added 1 behind the figure and it became N1.5million?

This year, the President did not declare the election a do or die. I saw no story of armed hooded security agents descending on a state, as in Ekiti in 2014. There was no story of an opposition governor’s plane denied landing rights at any airport. In 2023, we didn’t have a Police Commissioner Mbu denying an opposition party governor entry into his own Government House. Pray, where in Nigeria in 2023 did we have Police Commissioner Tahir Jidda denying Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe entry into Maiduguri and firing tear gas at Zik, even though Borno State Governor Muhammadu Goni stood beside him? Even the party primaries of last year lacked drama, because we saw nothing like the Babalawo who tried to enter the UPN state congress in Ibadan in 1983 with a live tortoise strapped to his waist.

Another youngster wrote on social media that “this generation of Nigerian politicians do not know how to concede, unlike the older generation.” Sorry sir, they actually copied it from the older generation. In 1979, as soon as election results started trickling in, we saw GNPP leader Waziri Ibrahim dashing around to see UPN leader Chief Awolowo and NPP leader Dr. Azikiwe. The three of them, minus PRP leader Aminu Kano who refused to join, appeared together before pressmen, rejected the election results and alleged rigging, even though it was an election conducted by a military government, not like now when APC controls the Federal Government [at least, it used to]. The scene was re-enacted last week when PDP and LP running mates held a joint press conference and tried to present a common front, a case of locking the stables after the horses have bolted.

Anyone who trusts such emergency political alliances has another thing coming. In 1979 the opposition parties presented us with a common front up until the Supreme Court upheld the election result. To our utmost surprise, just before Inauguration on October 1, 1979, NPN and NPP announced an accord where they shared legislative and executive posts between them. NPP got Deputy Senate President, House Speaker and several Cabinet posts, including Zik’s running mate Prof Ishaya Audu who became Foreign Minister, Mrs. Janet Akinrinade of Oyo and Paul Unongo of Benue. Who knows now if someone is negotiating under the table?

Our local and social media activists who are trying very hard to impress foreign election observers and the Western press by citing scattered incidents of election day problems knowing that White people are sticklers for procedure. They insist on correct procedure even if it produces an undesirable outcome. We Africans, who are wiser, usually walk back from the answer to the question. Our politicians’ measure of the credibility of an election is if they win, not whether or not the procedure was followed. If they don’t win, then the election is not credible.

The general African attitude to elections is that the outcome justifies the process. The credible outcome, in African eyes, is usually when the incumbent ruler or party is defeated. Hence, to most Africans, the best elections ever held in Africa were when Morgan Tsvangirai’s party defeated Robert Mugabe’s; when Adama Barrow defeated Yahaya Jammeh in Gambia; when Mohammed Morsi triumphed in Egypt against Hosni Mubarak’s premier; when Jerry Rawlings’ party was defeated in Ghana; when Macky Sall defeated Abdoulaye Wade in Senegal; when Wade himself earlier defeated Abdou Diouf; when Alassane Ouattara defeated Laurent Gbagbo in Ivory Coast; and more recently, when William Ruto triumphed in Kenya despite outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta’s support for Raila Odinga.

African style, let us walk backwards from the result to the credibility question. First, the voter turnout. There were 87 million voters with PVCs in 2023 election but only 24 million voted, or 27%. Now, the starting point of rigging elections is to take advantage of the number of registered voters.

Why leave 63 million blank names on the register if you really desire to rig up results? There is no doubt that the technological innovations adopted over the years greatly helped to clean up our elections. Up until 2007, those absent voters will simply have their votes cast for them by a coalition of party agents, election officials and security officers.

The winner of this election, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, got only 37% of the vote, down from the 56% that Buhari got in 2019. Now, while 2019 was a two-horse race between the APC and PDP candidates, 2023 was at least a four-horse race between APC, PDP, LP and NNPP candidates. It was the first time since 2007 that we had more than two major candidates in a presidential election and the first time since 1983 that we had up to four major candidates in such a race.
The top four candidates in this election got 37%, 29%, 25% and 6% respectively. This compares closely with 1979 when Shagari got 34%, Awo got 29%, Zik got 16%, Aminu Kano got 10.28 and Waziri Ibrahim got 10%. The top three runners up in this race got a combined 60% of the vote. That is impressive, but then, they only have themselves to blame that they did not present a united front before the election. They only tried to present a united front to contest the results. It is a case of locking the stables after the horses have bolted. Would they have made 60% of the vote if they had united behind a single candidate? Nobody will ever know the answer for certain.

Tinubu’s party went into this election controlling the Federal and 21 state governments. In the event, he won only 12 states outright. PDP’s Atiku Abubakar also won 12 states, LP’s Peter Obi won 12 states outright [FCT included] while NNPP’s Kwankwaso won outright in one state. So how did Tinubu win the race? Simple. The number of states that a candidate wins outright is important. Equally important is the number of states in which he came second. Also very important is, if he came second with only a narrow margin in most of them.

Tinubu won 12 states outright [Zamfara, Jigawa, Borno, Niger, Kwara, Kogi, Benue, Ekiti, Oyo, Ogun, Ondo and Rivers]. He came second in 19 states [Kebbi, Sokoto, Kaduna, Katsina, Kano, Gombe, Bauchi, Yobe, Taraba, Nasarawa, Plateau, Adamawa, Osun, Lagos, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Edo, Imo and Ebonyi]. In many cases the margins of loss were very small, only 3,000 votes in Sokoto, 12,000 in Katsina and equally narrow margins in Osun and Lagos. Very important, Tinubu came second to Kwankwaso in Kano, second to Atiku in most of the states the latter won and second to Obi in Lagos, Ebonyi, Imo and Edo.

This was exactly how Alhaji Shehu Shagari won the presidency in 1979. He won outright in nine states out of 19 [Sokoto, Kaduna, Niger, Bauchi, Gongola, Benue, Kwara, Rivers and Cross River.] He won in Kaduna and Gongola even though his party lost the governorship elections there two weeks earlier, what in those days was called “the bandwagon effect.” Of the remaining ten states in Nigeria at the time, Shagari came second in 9 [Oyo, Ogun, Ondo, Bendel, Anambra, Imo, Borno, Plateau and Kano]. Shagari came third only in Lagos, after Awo and Zik. Like Shagari, like Tinubu; you are victorious if your party is either first or second in almost every state.

Allegations that APC rigged the election also falls flat because it lost the biggest states, namely Lagos, Kaduna, Kano and Katsina, even though all of them have APC state governors, all of whom are staunchly loyal to Tinubu. In terms of vote banks, what is Imo, Edo or Adamawa to these states? Why should anyone go rigging elections in some small states when he could rig up figures in the biggest ones and win by a large margin? If they could help it, why should ten APC governors, APC National Chairman and Director General of the APC campaign suffer the embarrassment of failing to deliver their states? Why should Tinubu himself suffer the embarrassment of failing to win outright in Lagos, long alleged to be his political fiefdom?

Allegations that APC rigged these polls do not hold the water of logic. But those making them still have the chance to prove them at the election tribunals. Ajasin managed to prove rigging even in the olden days of analogue collation. It is easier to do so in this age of electronic collation, if indeed rigging took place.

*Originally published in ThisDay of 6 March 2023

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Tag: 2023 elections