Admin l Tuesday, February 28, 2023
ABUJA, Nigeria – The Vice Presidential candidates of two major opposition political parties, the People Democratic Party, PDP, Ifeanyi Okowa and his counterpart in the Labour Party, Dr. Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed have called on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu to stop further collation and cancel the election because the electoral umpire breached its own laws in the February 25, 2023 presidential and national assembly election by failing to transmit results directly from the polling units.
In a press conference, the candidates said there was no need for INEC to continue collation since it is already acting in breach of the Electoral Act as amended.
Okowa asked, “why did they not upload the results, they should tell Nigerians what happened. If the system is not down and they did not allow for upload of results, it means collusion”, he said, adding that INEC has moral reason to explain to Nigerians what happened.
“ He did not say what happened and that means something is fundamentally wrong, so they cannot continue on the path of illegality”, he said.
According to him, the Electoral Act used the word that the electoral officers ‘shall’ transmit results from the polling units to the INEC server, which he said makes it a must.
“If you have failed by the law, the only thing is to cancel it and not to review it. You cannot do something wrong and you want to go back and review it yourself”, he said.
He said INEC fought for the electoral act only to breach the law. “National Assembly gave it to him, Buhari accented to it and he who asked for it wants to breach the same law. We are talking about the illegality that has been done, it has breached our laws, so he knows. He championed it supported by civil society, in a civilized place, it ought not to be, if he cannot do it the honourable thing is for him to cancel the result and call for another election”, he said adding that as for cost, it is not about cost but that what is right is right.
“ If this country has to source for money to give hope to Nigerians then it has to be done. There is trust deficit already”, he said adding that the best thing to do is for him to cancel the results.
He said he wants to make sure that INEC follows the law. “ Nigerians must stand up for their rights. He said INEC has moral obligation to save this nation by doing what is right, that is what he is obligated to do, he cannot continue to play with the future of our children.
“He has opportunity to save his name, there is oath of loyalty and neutrality in the second schedule. No amount of inducement should cause him to do what is wrong”, he said.
Also speaking, Ahmed said it has been the character of this government to make promises and they have no will to fulfill their promises.
“ The said election should be cancelled because INEC breached its own law”, he said, adding that it is human disaster, which he said is worst than natural disaster.
“This is human disaster, it is worst than earthquakes where 60,000 people died in Turkey and Syria. We have individual who have millions to spend to control INEC, control court because they known they have the courts in their pocket”, he said, adding that right now everything is at stake.
“ I am ready to deploy everything I have not to let this not happen”, he said.
