Barrister Julius Abure, the National Chairman of the Labour Party, has expressed concern about the impunity of the party’s officials in Lagos State, where the results of the presidential elections that have been collated in the state’s various polling units are not being uploaded to the Central Server.
According to Julius Abure, the officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC in connivance with the security agencies are claiming that the BVAS has suddenly developed a fault and therefore cannot function.
The chairman said that information from the party’s field men has it that in places like Agege, Kosofe, Oshodi-Isolo, Surulere, and Ibeju Lekki, amongst others where results show that Labour Party won convincingly, the INEC officials claim that the BVAS suddenly developed a fault when it concerns uploading results of the presidential election.
According to him, “Information reaching me has it that in Lagos, they have refused to upload the results for the presidential election, they have uploaded that of the Senate and House of Representatives but for the presidential, they have refused. And they are using the police to drive our agents and supporters out of the place. And they said that they have firm instructions from INEC headquarters not to upload.
“For example, in Kosofe, they put the collation centre in a Local Government Area Headquarters. The place is surrounded by APC and people are afraid for their life. They are not uploading; they said that they have been instructed to insist that the BVAS is faulty. And most of the places we won, but they have refused to upload.
“As I speak, APC officials are in the Yaba office of INEC negotiating with the officials. What I have said now is happening in Agege, Kosofe, Oshodi-Isolo, and Surulere, we have this situation all over. In Ibeju Lekki, our local government chairman who attempted to stop them was arrested by the police.”
According to Abure, the situation is the same at all of Delta state’s collation centres.
However, he urged INEC to make sure that only legitimate results that can be independently verified from the various polling places should be uploaded.
He also urged the police to assist this democracy in functioning and to resist politicians’ efforts to undermine its accomplishments by refusing to be used to obstruct Nigerians’ right to choose their leaders.
