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2023 general election

Delisting of candidates’ names from INEC’s portal, caused by bad politics – Ebonyi Diaspora group

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The Association of Ebonyi Indigenes Socio-Cultural In the Diaspora (AEISCID) has blamed dirty politics for the delisting of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate’s names from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) portal.

The group which had earlier declared support for the Ebonyi state PDP’s governorship candidate, Chief Ifeanyi Chukwuma Odii, however, asked voters and party supporters to be calm over the development, insisting there was no cause for alarm.

There were reports of sudden disappearance of names of the National Assembly candidates of opposition PDP in Ebonyi state from the portal of the INEC.

But in a statement released Wednesday by the AEISCID President (World-wide) Amb. Paschal Oluchukwu, cautioned INEC to be wary of antics of some fifth columnists within it’s ranks and files.

According to the statement, the Supreme Court of Nigeria in September 2022, twice declared a business mogul, Chief Ifeanyi Chukwuma Odii and all the candidates wielding tickets under his line up as the authentic candidates of the PDP.

“We at the Association of Ebonyi Indigenes Socio-Cultural In the Diaspora, AEISCID received the astonishing and trending news of the sudden disappearance of names of the National Assembly candidates of the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Ebonyi State from the portal of the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC) with loads of reservations.

“For us, we consider this sad development as bizarre politics taken rather too far by those we believe should rather be joining hands to ensure the Party secures victory in the February 25th and March 11th general elections in Ebonyi State. This group is aware of the many political bickerings that held sway in Ebonyi PDP before, during and even after the Party’s primaries.

“AESICID is also in the know of the decisions of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in September last year whereby the apex Court twice declared a business mogul, Chief Ifeanyi Chukwuma Odii and all the candidates wielding tickets under his line up as the authentic candidates of the party.

“As a good party man who’s genuinely interested in the peace, unity and stability of the party, this socio-cultural group is also up to speed on the numerous commendable efforts and overtures made by Odii and indeed his team to reconcile and unite all aggrieved members of the party.

“Our findings showed that whereas, a few of the party leaders on the other hand sincerely embraced the olive branch, the rest merely pretended, while plotting and waiting to sabotage the efforts of the party to reclaim the state through the instrumentality of the ballot.

“It was therefore dangerous politics taken to the extreme in our estimation that some individuals could connive with enemies of the party and the desperate government of the day in Ebonyi (as being alleged in some quarters) to partner with some extraneous forces within and outside the electoral umpire to remove names of candidates some of who has no court cases as claimed by the INEC in it’s portal.

“Rather than take it’s campaigns to the hinterlands, we have observed that the Umahi-led APC government in Ebonyi which is awfully scared to face the electorates have resorted to underhand tactics and desperate politics of scheming out the opponents they are afraid of. No matter their antics, we still assure them of the outright rejection of the Ebonyi electorates whom they have mis-governed and vilified with their anti-people’s policies and programmes.”

While asking the people of Ebonyi to massively support Chief Odii as the next governor of the state, the group the PDP governorship candidate as a credible alternative to meet the yearnings of Ebonyians.

“We, however urge the supporters of the PDP- a party we have found as a credible alternative to meet the needs and yearnings of beleaguered Ebonyians especially with the candidacy of Chief Odii and other PDP candidates to please remain calm and peaceful as we are aware that the leaders are on top of the matter and working hard to ensure that the party and all it’s candidates are not short changed ahead of the February 25th and March 11th polls. There’s no cause for alarm even as we caution INEC to be wary and careful of antics of some fifth columnists within it’s ranks and files.

“This group however reaffirm it’s firm stand and untainted support for the PDP’s Governorship candidate, Chief Odii, and indeed all other candidates of the party and urge Ebonyi electorates to vote massively for them and the party as they remain the candidates and team with the best people-focused manifesto.”

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2023 general election

2023 polls: Abdulsalami Peace Committee opens up on pressure to ask for cancellation

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Abdulsalami Abubakar

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.

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2023 general election

EU reports: LP says FG is feebly adopting face saving measures

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***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.”

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2023 general election

FG tackles EU over report on 2023 general elections

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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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