A former Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo, has raised an alarm of looming danger across the country over the alleged manipulation of the ongoing electoral process.
This is as Obasanjo has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to take urgent steps to address the concerns raised over the alleged discrepancies regarding the results of the general election.
This was made known on Monday by Obasanjo in a letter he personally signed where he appealed to President Buhari to prevail on the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, to stop the process and rectify the raised issues.
Obasanjo said that the president cannot afford to ignore the concerns raised over the electoral process, adding that immediate steps — including rescheduling polls in affected areas — need to be taken.
Looming danger
Obasanjo in the letter said,
- “Nigerian Brothers and Sisters, greetings to you all. I am constrained to speak at this point. I crave the indulgence of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency General Muhammadu Buhari, to make this statement because I have had the opportunity to keep him aware of what I know is happening and the danger looming ahead.
- “On many occasions in the past, I have not hesitated to point out the lacuna in the action of the President and his government. But as far as the election issues are concerned, the President has proved beyond reasonable doubt that he will want to leave a legacy of free, fair, transparent, and credible elections.
- “Until last Saturday night, February 25, 2023, the good and noble plan and preparation for the elections seemed to be going well. For the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), a lot of money was spent to introduce Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), and the Server for immediate transmission of results from polling units.
Obasanjo accuses INEC, officials of compromise,
The former president accused INEC officials at the operational level of being allegedly compromised to make their server not work.
- He said, “It is no secret that INEC officials, at the operational level, have been allegedly compromised to make what should have worked not work and to revert to the manual transmission of results which is manipulated and the results doctored.
- “The Chairman of INEC may claim ignorance but he cannot fold his hands and do nothing when he knows that the election process has been corrupted and most of the results that are brought outside BVAS and Server are not a true reflection of the will of Nigerians who have made their individual choice.
- “At this stage, we do not need wittingly or unwittingly to set this country on fire with the greed, irresponsibility, and unpatriotic act of those who allegedly gave money to INEC officials for perversion and those who collected the blood money.
- “Let me appeal to the Chairman of INEC, if his hands are clean, to save Nigeria from the looming danger and disaster which is just waiting to happen. If the Chairman can postpone elections four days to the election, he can do everything to rectify the errors of the last two days – no BVAS, no result to be acceptable; and no uploading through Server, no result to be acceptable.
- “Whereas BVAS and Servers have been manipulated or rendered inactive, such results must be declared void and inadmissible for election declaration. Chairman INEC, I have thought that you would use this wonderful opportunity to mend your reputation and character for posterity.
Non-credible elections should be cancelled
Obasanjo added, “Your Excellency, President Buhari Muhammadu, tension is building up and please let all elections that do not pass the credibility and transparency test be cancelled and be brought back with areas where elections were disrupted for next Saturday, March 4, 2023, and BVAS and Server officials be changed.”
Obasanjo also said a committee of INEC officials and representatives of political parties and the chairperson of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) be set up to determine the areas where elections were compromised in preparation for fresh polls.
He said,
- “Mr. President, may your plan and hope for leaving a legacy of free, fair, transparent, and credible election be realized. Mr. President, please don’t let anybody say to you that it does not matter or it is the problem of INEC. On no account should you be seen as part of the collusion or compromise.’’
- “When the die is cast, it will be your problem as the Chief Executive of the nation. The Chairman of INEC may sneak out of the country or go back to his ivory tower. Your Excellency, thank you for hearing me out.
- “Compatriot Nigerians, please exercise patience until the wrong is righted. I strongly believe that nobody will toy with the future and fortune of Nigeria at this juncture.”
For the record
INEC is currently announcing the collated results of the presidential elections held on Saturday, February 25, 2023.
However, some party agents especially that of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP) have rejected the results of some states.
They have complained of violent attacks and the non-transmission of the results from the various polling units to the Result Viewing Portal (IReV), which they claimed have affected the credibility of the results being announced.
A PDP representative and a former senator from Kogi West, Dino Melaye, and other party agents walked out of the centre after raising issues bordering on irregularities in the process of the election.
