The Labour Party has called for the suspension of results announcements.
A statement on Monday, February 27, 2023, signed by Diran Onifade, Director, Media Obidatti Campaign Organization, said that the Campaign Council is of the firm conviction that the election processes and practices as carried out by INEC and as permitted by some security agencies do not, in the most reasonable minimum, meet the required standards of credibility and are not fundamentally free and fair.
The Obidatti Campaign Organization further said that a compromised election cannot produce genuine results, nor can it be lawful or within the bounds of the Constitution and the Electoral Act of 2022.
The statement read, “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 the 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 fall short of the above provision.”
“Based on these anomalies, the Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Organization hereby states that the conduct of the elections of February 25, 2023, including the ongoing charade of declaration of “results” in the states and Abuja, is unacceptable, and we hereby demand, unequivocally, 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
“We see the trickery of not uploading the presidential election results from the polling centers and the alteration and replacement of Form EC8A as an egregious act of brazen fraud that must not stand.”
“We call upon our supporters, support groups, voters, and indeed, all Nigerians, to stay calm and vigilant while we wait for INEC to urgently do what is right.
“We urge the international community, election observers, and all true friends of Nigeria to critically review the conduct of these elections and stand firmly on the side of fairness and justice.”
“We are confident the people will overcome this matter, on which the future of our country rests, no matter how long it takes.”
