2023 general election
Why we would mobilise against presidential candidates of Northern extraction -PANDEF
***Warns of danger for Nigeria if North retains power
Apparently piqued by the clandestine but subtle moves the the north to retain power at all costs after 8 years on the saddle, the Pan Delta Forum, (PANDEF), has vowed to mobilize the electorate against presidential candidates of Northern extraction ahead of the 2023 general elections.
They warned of possible trouble in Nigeria should the presidential power return to the north beyond the May 29, 2023 exit date for the present administration led by a Northerner, President Muhammadu Buhari.
The National Publicity Secretary of PANDEF, Ken Robinson, gave the indication during a consultation visit by the Forum to the presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, (SDP), Prince Adewale Adebayo on Tuesday in Abuja.
According to him the forum will mobilize every well meaning Nigerian to voice their unjust treatment in the Nigerian state should the presidency be retained in the North come 2023.
He said the is a serious one, even though it is not a threat “We are serious.”
“We will mobilize our people in the creeks, in the farmlands, in the streets across Nigeria, and people who think that Nigerians should work together.
“I had said on a programme on national TV that if the two major political parties produces northern candidates, it will be a declaration of war against Southern Nigeria.
According to him, Nigerians have experienced a situation under the present administration that has been operating as if others don’t exist.
“We are saying it’s unfair, not proper, and it’s on record. We are taking our campaigns to the South South, we have friends in the Middle Belt and in northern Nigeria; Nigerians of goodwill and clear conscience in northern Nigeria, so that they know that we need to work together for this country to exist, prosper, and become greater than what we are.
“We will speak to all Nigerians why the next president should come from Southern Nigeria; anything otherwise, Nigeria will no longer be what it has been if 2023 presidency goes to the North, we are not saying this as a threat.
Robinson emphasized on depth of injustices meted to the Southern part of the country under the present regime, pointing out that “There are 17 major paramilitary intelligence agencies in the country. At the last count 14 of them are headed by persons from certain part of the country, three from Southern Nigeria.
“The NNPC limited as it is called has 11 key management and board members, the South south has no person, and eighty percent of our resources come from the region, the south east has two, the south west one.
“And in that kind of discriminatory administration for eight years; then somebody in that kind of scenario wants to retain power again in the North.”
He said, “We have agreed that after due consultations with the presidential candidates, we will adviser Nigerians on which presidential candidate to vote for.
“This conversations will continue with the South South and the Middle Belt.”
On the issue of Muslim Muslim ticket and whether the group will interface with presidential flag bearer of APC, Bola Tinubu, he said, “You can’t close the door against your own, PANDEF will engage all of them because we’re leaders and fathers.”
The presidential candidate of the SDP, Prince Adewole Adebayo said, he plans to promote an indivisible Nigeria, a Nigeria that believes in power rotation.
“My major aim is to promote an indivisible Nigeria. The Niger Delta has been the source of stupendous wealth that has been used to sustain Nigeria.
“I see the Niger Delta as a valuable component of Nigeria. I just don’t see it as an area that produces oil but as humans who happens to be before oil.
“If the injustice in Nigeria is addressed nobody will talk of your geographical location.
“I share their believe on power rotation but from a just man to a just man and not an unjust man from the North to an unjust man from the South.”
2023 general election
2023 polls: Abdulsalami Peace Committee opens up on pressure to ask for cancellation
The National Peace Committee (NPC) has opened up on pressure it faced to intervene in the 2023 Presidential Election results. During a report presentation in Abuja, led by General Abdulsalami Abubakar, the committee disclosed that it received numerous requests to push the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to halt results collation or cancel the election due to alleged violations of the electoral act.
Key issues included concerns about the 25% vote threshold requirement for the Federal Capital Territory, with some advocates calling for a runoff.
The NPC emphasized its role as a moral authority rather than a regulatory body, highlighting its mandate to promote peace and compliance with the law, without the power to arrest or punish violators.
The committee acknowledged a gap in public understanding of its functions and the importance of moral persuasion in fostering electoral integrity and peace.
Before presenting the report to the public, the committee had earlier met with the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu and other management staff of the commission where it was briefed on the electoral umpire’s preparation for the forthcoming Governorship elections in Edo and Ondo states.
Other members of the committee are Okoh Ebitu Ukiwe (Vice Chairman); Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah (Convener); Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III; John Cardinal Onaiyekan; business icons, Aliko Dangote and Femi Otedola; Vanguard Newspapers Publisher, Sam Amuka Pemu; Ameze Guobadia; Idayat Hassan; Dame Priscilla Kuye; Gen. Martin Luther Agwai; Mahmud Yayale Ahmed; Channels TV owner, John Momoh; Roseline Ukeje; and, Fr. Atta Barkindo, its Head of Secretariat.
Part of the report reads; “As the election day progressed, criticisms and counter criticisms became abundant. The NPC was already being faced with a flurry of phone calls and the need to call INEC to order.
“The Peace Committee was flooded with requests for intervention. Both the Chairman of the Committee, General Abdulsalami A. Abubakar, the Convener, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah and the Head of NPC Secretariat, Fr. Atta Barkindo, were inundated with calls, requests, and petitions demanding the intervention of the NPC.
“Some of the requests wanted the NPC to prevail on INEC to stop collating election results because there were gross violations and lack of compliance with the electoral act. Others demanded that the tenets of the Peace Accord signed were not adhered to and therefore the Committee should call for cancellation of the election entirely.
“The most significant call was related to the 25% threshold for Abuja as the Federal Capital Territory. Some of the analysts who reached out to the committee asked that the final election result should not be announced because the resumptive president-elect did not score the required 25% as stated in the electoral act. If anything, there should be a runoff.
2023 general election
EU reports: LP says FG is feebly adopting face saving measures
***EU only hit the nail on the head
The leadership of the Labour Party has countered the Federal Government of Nigeria for discrediting the European Union’s conclusion on the 2023 General Election wherein it faulted the modalities by which the conclusion was reached.
It reiterated what it believed as the accurate testament of the European Union’s conclusion on the 2023 general elections which merely hit the nail on the head.
A statement by the National Publicity Secretary Obiora Ifoh said,
“Eropean Union’s Conclusion on the 2023 general elections are nit Jaundiced but accurate Testament of the outcome of the FG and INEC alliance to change the will of the electorate.”
“We see this face-saving measure by the Federal Government which is coming days after the submission of the report as feeble and medicine after death.
“It will interest the government to note that the European Union’s report is only one out of numerous submissions by other international Observers who have described the outcome of the election as a sham and an exercise that did not reflect the will of the majority of Nigerians.
“Labour Party stands by the position of the EU observation mission. We have always said that this election was massively rigged in favour of the APC and their candidate.
“What the FG is saying is just an afterthought and a shameless effort to mask the obvious. Even the blind can see, the deaf can hear and they know this election was manipulated.
“Huge pieces of evidence abound for even the deaf and the blind to hear and feel. We are only hoping that the judiciary will dispense justice without fear or favour in the interest of the nation and posterity.
“Nigerians already know the true winner of the 2023 presidential election and no amount of slandering, denial, or rebuttal can change the fact that the party in power has no mandate of the electorate.
“We must also note that whatever position the INEC has taken is with active connivance with the Federal Government to deny the electorate and it clearly shows that INEC is not in any way independent.
“The Commission’s action is at the whims and caprices of the government and we know it. But Nigerians looking to the Judiciary for justice. That’s where we stand.”
2023 general election
FG tackles EU over report on 2023 general elections
The Federal Government has countered the European Union’s report on the 2023 general elections, describing the conclusions therein as “jaundiced”.
The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Special Duties, Communications and Strategy gave the indication in a statement on Sunday.
“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,”
According to him, the February 25, 2023 presidential election was “clearly and fairly” won by Tinubu, the then candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC).
He also advised that the EU allow Nigeria to breathe and not meddle in the affairs of the country.
“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,” he said.
He said the presidency was not unaware of the “machinations of the European Union to sustain its, largely, unfounded bias and claims on the election outcomes”.
Alake further stated that there is no substantial evidence provided by the EU or any foreign and local organisation that is viable enough to impeach the integrity of the 2023 election outcomes.
“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,” he stated.
“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.”
The media aide said Nigeria has put the elections behind, and Tinubu is facing the task of nation-building.
“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.”
On June 27, 2023, the EU presented its report on the 2023 elections in Nigeria to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The EU said the election exposed enduring systemic weaknesses and therefore signaled a need for further legal and operational reforms to enhance transparency, inclusiveness and accountability.
The EU also identified six areas for improvement in Nigeria’s electoral process moving forward.
Some of the key areas listed by the Mission are ambiguities in the law, the establishment of a publicly accountable process for the selection of the INEC members, ensuring real-time publication of results as well as access to election results.
It also highlighted the need for protection for media practitioners while decrying the discrimination against women in elective and appointed positions as well as impunity regarding electoral offences.
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