From Victor Osula, Abuja
Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo has alerted the Nigerians to a possible breakdown of law and order over the poor conduct of the Presidential and National Assembly election by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC , on Saturday, February 25, 2023.
Obasanjo raised the alarm in a letter titled 2023 Presidential Election- An Appeal for Caution and Rectification and dated Monday, February 27, 2023.
He alleged that the INEC has compromised the election by acting the hidden script of some dark power to manipulate the results in their favour and thus plunge the country into avoidable danger.
He appealed to the President Muhammadu Buhari to direct the Chairman of INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, to stop the ongoing electoral process and rectify the allegations raised against it from many quarters, including some political parties, the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC and many Civil Society Organisations, CSOs.
On Sunday, the Labour Party National Chairman, Julius Abure claiming that many governors have disrupted the process in their states, against his party, particularly in Rivers, Delta, Edo, Kogi and Lagos, called on Yakubu to cancel the election.
At the National Collation Centre in Abuja on Monday morning, officials of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, protested the inability of the INEC to obey provisions of the Electoral Act covering the sanctity of balloting by failing to upload certified results from the polling units into the election result portal of the Commission.
Led by Senator Dino Melaye, the PDP officials had to stage a walk out at the collation centre in protest. Before then, on Saturday evening, President of the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, Mr Joe Ajaero, in a statement alleged that the results from the presidential and national assembly polls have been seriously compromised by a former employee of the Lagos State government currently serving in the IT department of INEC, whom allegedly malfunctioned the INEC result portal.
Ms Ene Obi, Country Representative of the ActionAid Nigeria said the failure of INEC to upload results from the polling units as prescribed by law would cast doubts about the authenticity of the results and urged INEC to rectify the problem immediately.
INEC on its part issued a statement on Saturday evening to say, its election result portal, IRev, had been acting up and promised that the IT department was working hard to rectify the identified problem which the National Commissioner, Voter Education and Publicity, Mr Festus Okoye, traced to failed update after the conduct of off season elections in Anambra, Edo, Osun and Ekiti.
But up till Monday when the National Collation Centre resumed activity, the situation had not been rectified, forcing the PDP crew to raise its objection. Obasanjo in his letter said some politicians had compromised some electoral officials to make the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, machines not to work.
He said, in part, “I am constrained to speak at this point. I crave the indulgence of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency General Muhammadu Buhari, to make this statement because I have had opportunity to keep him aware of what I know is happening and the danger looming ahead.
“On many occasions in the past, I have not hesitated to point out lacuna in the action of the President and his government. But as far as the election issues are concerned, the President has proved beyond reasonable doubt that he will want to leave a legacy of free, fair, transparent and credible elections.
“Until last Saturday night, February 25, 2023, the good and noble plan and preparation for the elections seemed to be going well. For the Independent National Electoral Commission, a lot of money was spent to introduce Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), and the server for immediate transmission of results from polling units.
It is no secret that INEC officials, at operational levels, have been allegedly compromised to make what should have worked not to work and to revert to manual transmission of results which is manipulated and the results doctored.
“The Chairman of INEC may claim ignorance but he cannot fold his hands and do nothing when he knows that election process has been corrupted and most of the results that are brought outside BVAS and server are not a true reflection of the will of Nigerians who have made their individual choice.
At this stage, we do not need wittingly or unwittingly to set this country on fire with the greed, irresponsibility and unpatriotic act of those who allegedly gave money to INEC officials for perversion and those who collected the blood money.
“Let me appeal to the Chairman of INEC, if his hands are clean, to save Nigeria from the looming danger and disaster which is just waiting to happen. If the Chairman can postpone elections four days to the election, he can do everything to rectify the errors of the last two days – no BVAS, no result to be acceptable; and no uploading through Server, no result to be acceptable.
“Whereas, BVAS and Servers have been manipulated or rendered inactive, such results must be declared void and inadmissible for election declaration. Chairman INEC, I have thought that you would use this wonderful opportunity to mend your reputation and character for posterity.
“Your Excellency, President Buhari Muhammadu, tension is building up and please let all elections that do not pass the credibility and transparency test be cancelled and be brought back with areas where elections were disrupted for next Saturday, March 4, 2023, and BVAS and Server officials be changed. To know which stations or polling units were manipulated, let a committee of INEC staff and representatives of the four major political parties with the Chairman of Nigerian Bar Association look into what must be done to have hitch-free elections next Saturday.
“Mr. President, may your plan and hope for leaving a legacy of free, fair, transparent and credible election be realised. Mr. President, please don’t let anybody say to you that it does not matter or it is the problem of INEC. On no account should you be seen as part of the collusion or compromise. When the die is cast, it will be your problem as the Chief Executive of the nation. The Chairman of INEC may sneak out of the country or go back to his Ivory Tower. Your Excellency, thank you for hearing me out.
“Compatriot Nigerians, please exercise patience until the wrong is righted. I strongly believe that nobody will toy with the future and fortune of Nigeria at this juncture.”
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