Former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday, called on the chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Yakubu Mahmoud to declare, “void and inadmissible for election declaration”, election results in polling units where the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) malfunctioned.
Obasanjo in a letter issued yesterday in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, specifically called on President Muhammadu Buhari to avert what he termed as the looming danger “by ordering cancellation of election results in all elections that do not pass the credibility and transparency test.”
Also yesterday, the National Peace Committee jointly chaired by a former head of state, General Abdulsalami Abubakar and Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Hassan Kukah, called on the INEC to do justice to the complaint raised by Nigerians concerning the election.
He said, “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.
“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.”
“BVAS and Server officials will be changed. To know which stations or polling units were manipulated, let a Committee of INEC staff and representatives of the four major political parties with the Chairman of Nigerian Bar Association look into what must be done to have hitch-free elections next Saturday. Mr. President, may your plan and hope for leaving a legacy of free, fair, transparent and credible election be realised.
“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.”
He said that he was constrained to speak at this point and craved the indulgence of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency General Muhammadu Buhari, to make this statement because he has had the opportunity to keep him aware of what he knows was happening and the danger looming ahead.
“It is no secret that INEC officials, at operational level, have been allegedly compromised to make what should have worked not to work and to revert to 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 true reflection of the will of Nigerians who have made their individual choices.
“At this stage, we do not need wittingly or unwittingly to set this country on fire with the greed, irresponsibility and unpatriotic acts of those who allegedly gave money to INEC officials for perversion and those who collected the blood money.”
According to Abdulsalami, INEC should address the grievances being expressed by Nigerians against the presidential election conducted on Saturday.
The organisation also appealed to INEC to take all the time it required to ensure deliverance of results which inspire the confidence of the Nigerians in line with international best practices.
Abdulsalami made the recommendations in a statement titled, “A call for calm: Please give peace and the process a chance.”
Abdulsami reminded Nigerians that the world has invested a lot of good will towards the country in the elections, adding that all citizens deserve to be rewarded by a process that ensures that their votes really count.
The statement reads, “Nigerians must be reminded that the world has invested a lot of good will towards us in these elections. We have taken note of the dissatisfaction among voters who braved all harsh weather elements to perform their civic duties. All citizens deserve to be rewarded by a process that ensures that their votes truly count.
“We appeal to INEC to heed the grievances being expressed, to take the necessary steps to escalate investigations of all allegations of infractions and to ensure that justice is clearly done to all citizens who went out to vote.
“We have received reports of the culture of voter suppression manifested across the country through the application of targeted violence, disruption of processes, inducement of voters, intimidation, deliberate frustrations of voters and the challenges of the election equipment.”
Meanwhile, All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council has faulted calls by Obasanjo discrediting the ongoing national electoral process in the country, saying “it is a call for a coup against the nation’s democracy.”
The APC PCC in a statement tagged: “Obasanjo’s Mischief and Hypocrisy On Display Again’’ signed by the special adviser, media, communications and public affairs of the council, Mr Dele Alake said Obasanjo lacked the moral rectitude to make such call having openly endorsed the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, as his preferred candidate in the election.
He said, ‘’Our attention has been drawn to a press statement by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in which he was virtually calling for a truncation of the ongoing electoral process and a cancellation of already conducted elections on the basis of frivolous, unfounded and baseless allegations by politicians who are sore losers and have no respect for democratic values.
“Obasanjo repeated without the slightest iota of evidence rumours he had picked up that the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System had been compromised and that the results of elections being announced are fraudulent.
“It is tragic that a former President who ought to be a statesman in comportment and speech will recklessly seek to endanger and derail our democratic process for utterly selfish, egoistic and malicious reasons. He offers not a single credible piece of evidence to prove his laughable and ridiculous allegations against INEC and the credibility of the ongoing process.”
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