By Harry Awurumibe, Editor Abuja Bureau
Three opposition political parties – Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party and African Democratic Congress (ADC) on Tuesday held a world press briefing asking the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to cancel Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly elections because it lacked integrity.
Speaking at the briefing, National Chairman of PDP, Iyorchia Ayu, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene in the imbroglio between the aggrieved political parties and INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu to make him to understand that the Commission has gone against the Provisions of the Electoral Act 2022.
According to Ayu, a former President of Nigeria’s Senate, INEC insistence on going ahead with collation and announcements of results is an affront to the spirit of democracy, adding that Nigeria is not in autocracy.
Also speaking at the event, Julius Abure Chairman of Labour Party said that the damage done to Nigeria and Nigerians with the way INEC mismanaged the collation of the Presidential and National Assembly elections of last Saturday is unquestionably.
Abure insists that what would have been a transparent election on Saturday has been
manipulated at the Collation Centers across the country, alleging that a large scale manipulations have occurred after Nigerians have trooped out enmass to vote for their preferred candidates are been short-changed.
Said he: “We are telling the world that even as we speak in Rivers, Bayelsa , Imo and other states where election results are still being collated and sent to Government Houses of the states to be manipulated by the Governors before they are sent to Abuja for INEC to now collate and announced as the original results. This cannot be allowed to go on”.
The Labour Party Chairman demanded that the elections be repeated at a later day even as he accused INEC of compromise by insisting that the flaws noticed are not addressed as requested by the political parties.
He argued that the call for President
Buhari to intervene by PDP Chairman is in order because he has a say in the affairs of INEC and as the Commander-In-
Chief, he has his job cut out for him should Nigerians decide to take laws into their own hands.
In his own remarks, former Governor of Imo state and former Deputy Speaker of Federal House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha said he aligned himself with the demands of three Chairmen of political parties namely PDP (Ayu) LP ( Abure) and African Democratic Congress (ADC), Dr. Ralph Nwosu, for the Presidential and National Assembly elections be repeated.
Said he: “As true democrat I want to see a transparent elections no matter who wins it. For example, I am the leader of PDP in Imo state as a former Governor and I wanted my party (PDP) to win but Labour Party swept the polls and now the results are being taken to Government House Owerri to be manipulated. This is not right”.
Meanwhile, the Moderator Senator
Dino Melaye said they are asking for outright cancellation of the election because what the INEC Chairman is doing is not “election collation but votes allocation”
Quoting Section 38 of Electoral Act 2022, he insists that the onus is on INEC to prove that the results being churned out have been uploaded in the INEC (iREV) and downloaded for collation.
