2023 general election
LP condemns disdain for electorate by absentee candidates at presidential debates
**Threatens to boycott debates with their surrogates henceforth
The Labour Party’s Presidential Campaign Organisation has condemned the disdain for the electorate and the people, by some absentee Presidential Candidates during the Presidential Town Hall Series organised by Arise TV at the weekend.
It vowed that its Presidential candidate will never appear at such debates where other Presidential candidates will stay away only to send their surrogates again.
Speaking during a press conference at the party’s campaign secretariat in Abuja on Monday, the Director General of LP Presidential Campaign Council, Doyin Okupe, said the debate was scheduled to hold among Presidential candidates not with their surrogates
“I have called you this afternoon to speak on a growing trend of irresponsibility, arrogance and disregard for the electorate, which has now gone beyond coincidence, and is at risk of becoming the norm.
“On Monday 22nd August 2022 the Nigerian Bar Association invited the leading Presidential candidates to address her Annual Bar Conference and the Nigerian people at this epic occasion, the Presidential Candidate of the APC sent his Vice Presidential candidate to represent him.
“Again, on Tuesday and Wednesday September 13th and 14th 2022, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry invited the major Presidential Candidates to interact with them and the Nigerian people, on their economic and general policy initiatives as a prelude to the presidential elections.
“While His Excellency Mr. Peter Obi, and other invited candidates appeared in person, the presidential candidate of the APC sent his Vice Presidential candidate, to represent him .
“Once Again, Yesterday the 6th November 2022 , at the First AriseTV Town Hall Meeting, in contradiction to the understanding reached with the organisers, about allowing only presidential candidates to attend the event, the Vice Presidential candidate of the PDP was allowed to represent his Presidential candidate.
“This sparked a protest and rowdy situation by supporters of the other Presidential candidates present.”
He said it was the firm conviction of the party that anything short of the simple, transparent and honest adherence to this basic contract of responsibility, falls short of the standards of fair contest and engagement and could only be interpreted as mischievous evasion of the desired interface with the people.
“The decision to present oneself as a Presidential candidate, does not start and end with the purchase , submission of forms and certification as a candidate by INEC.
“It also forebodes on the candidate a high degree of responsibility to present himself for open discussions and explanations on his policies , visions and plans for the people to enable a better understanding and engender an appropriate choice by the electorate in the coming elections.
He said the campaign organisation find totally reprehensible and inconceivable why any Presidential Candidate for these elections should think that they are doing the voting public and indeed all Nigerians a favour, by appearing in person, at these scheduled programs which are a fundamental part of the election season and process.
“These candidates who have assumed the position of emperors and rulers, and not responsible politicians, who are willing to serve and listen to the people, place their position of trust in critical jeopardy by their high horse of arrogance and non accountability.
“For the avoidance of doubt, His Excellency Mr. Peter Obi is prepared at any appointed time, to engage the Nigerian people on his mission and vision for the people and country whom he seeks to lead competently and responsibly.
“It is an established fact, beyond contradiction that Mr Peter Obi is currently the leading candidate in this presidential race , and yet he does not display the baseless and arrogant disposition of some of his co- candidates.”
“To add insult to injury , yesterday at the Arise Tv Townhall Meeting ,the Vice Presidential candidate who purported to represent his Presidential Candidate, sought to explain his presence under the obnoxious pretext that the ‘Presidency is one’
“This is a blatant lie and to say the least a deceptive attempt to pull wool over the eyes of Nigerians .
According to Okupe, the Joint Ticket in a presidential election, and in a substantive Presidency, is a constitutional provision for temporary or permanent substitution, where the Presidential candidate is primarily incapacitated or otherwise critically unavailable.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the onus and the duty of presenting his position, vision, policies and plans and responding to questions therefrom, is the responsibility of the presidential candidate, in first person, including the fact of being held accountable for his presentation.
“This primary duty of care and response cannot be relegated, delegated or avoided, as a matter of deception or evasion, as it encompasses the right of the people to full and total knowledge of what the candidate has in stock for them.”
Okupe said their presidential candidates would only be prepared in this election season to mount “the podium with their peers and not with any surrogates or diversionary delegated representation.
His words: “Let us make it clear today, that these recurring acts will no longer be acceptable to the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Organisation.
“We are the ones calling for the change of the system, we cannot participate in the subversion of the system. That will be a total contradiction of our promise to create a new Nigeria. If anybody want to organise a debate and want to base it on deceit, we will not be part of it. Whatever you say and we all agree we will keep to it and we will stand by it.
“It is important that those who want to rule us tell us what they want to do. You can’t sit down in one place, give money to those who will go out for you and say yes he’s our man.
“In some places, they will say Ah, don’t worry you have already won. We have gone beyond that and people must ask questions and the candidates must be accountable. This is how societies grow, this is how societies improve.”
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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